WeedLife News Network

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill on Tuesday that expands the state’s medical marijuana program, although cannabis activists say the legislation does not go far enough. The measure, House Bill 1535 (HB 1535), was signed by the Republican governor after lawmakers in the Texas Senate made significant changes to the legislation last month.

Under the bill, patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and all types of cancer will be eligible to use approved medical cannabis products under the Texas Compassionate Use Program. Under current regulations, only intractable epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, ALS, terminal cancer, autism and many seizure disorders are listed as qualifying medical conditions for participation in the program.

HB 1535 also raises the cap on THC in approved medical marijuana formulations to 1 percent by dry weight. Currently, only cannabis medications with a maximum of 0.5 percent THC are permitted under the rules of the program.

An earlier version of the bill that increased the THC limit to 5 percent and also added chronic pain as a qualifying condition was passed by the Texas House of Representatives in April. But when the measure was taken up in the Senate last month, Republican Senator Charles Schwertner introduced a substitute version of the legislation that removed chronic pain as a qualifying condition and rolled back the potency increase to 1 percent.

“As a pharmacist and as a physician, I feel strongly that our limited medical program, with appropriate rules and oversight, is the right path for patients in Texas seeking symptom relief,” Schwertner said when he introduced the changes to the legislation. “I believe the evidence is starting to show that. I believe there needs to be further work, but certainly, the testimony is very strong by patients who are suffering from some of these conditions.”

In a new study, a group of international researchers investigated whether adolescent cannabis use has any effect on cortical thickness in the brains of teenagers.

Very few studies have looked at the link between cannabis use in adolescents and its impact on neurodevelopment, and although studies in animal models have pointed towards altered neurodevelopment with lasting behavioral effects with early cannabis use, studies in humans have provided conflicting results.

Now, reporting in the journal JAMA Psychiatry, researchers show that cannabis use during youth might be associated with changes in neurodevelopment – specifically, the thinning of cortical regions rich in cannabinoid 1 receptors (CB1 receptors).

In the study, the researchers used longitudinal neuroimaging and behavioral data (self-reported) from the IMAGEN study data set and investigated 2,223 school children from 8 different European regions who were all approximately 14 years of age.

Out of that cohort, the authors identified 799 participants (450 Female and 349 Male) that had not used cannabis at a baseline of roughly 14 years. They were followed up after a five-year period to determine changes in their cannabis use habits during adolescence while having Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) data of their brains available. 

If you're looking for a top pot stock to invest in, your search needs to start in the U.S. cannabis market, which boasts many fast-growing companies that are performing incredibly well and that could be excellent buys for years to come.

While The Hemp Mine’s annual field day usually puts the company’s latest genetic offerings on display, this year’s field day will have a twist. 

The Hemp Mine, a vertically integrated hemp CBD business in South Carolina, and Davis Hemp Farms, a seed breeding and producing company based in Oregon, are partnering to create a pheno-hunting process during The Hemp Mine’s field day to help growers pick the best genetics based on appearance, growth structure, hardiness, terpene profile, trichomes and peak maturity, according to SiraNaturals.

Hemp has a bright future in Ireland, but government obstacles are reportedly standing in the way.

Sinn Féin is a republican and democratic socialist political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Sinn Féin spokesperson on Agriculture, Matt Carthy TD, says hemp cultivation can help farmers supplement their income in a more environmentally way.

“Uses for hemp include building material for houses, paper, clothes, heating oil and as a plastic alternative,” he said. “There is also an increasing demand for CBD health products, extracted by various approved methods from Hemp, both in Ireland and internationally.”

But rather than actively supporting the sector, Mr. Carthy says the government is doing little.

In Northern Ireland, the Department of Health is responsible for issuing hemp licences. That might seem like an odd state of affairs given hemp’s myriad non-medicinal related uses, but cannabis in all its forms is treated as a controlled substance and subject to restrictive licensing laws.

The bill eliminates the possibility that being arrested for possession of small amounts of cannabis will result in prison time, which cannabis reform advocates typically demand.

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards signed off on House Bill 652 to decriminalize small amounts of cannabis possession for personal use.

Possession of up to 14 grams will now be categorized as a misdemeanor rather than a felony. Those caught violating the law face up to a $100 fine without jail time.

Photo by Elsa Olofsson via Unsplash

“It essentially provides for the officer to write a ticket with no jail time,” Shreveport Rep. Alan Seabaugh told the Daily Advertiser about the bill, signed on Tuesday.

June 18th, 1971, President Richard Nixon declared the “war on drugs,” an initiative fueled by fear mongering and racism supposedly started to stop illegal drug use.

For cannabis, the war on drugs disproportionately targeted Black and brown communities, subjecting people to unjust prison sentences for possessing a medicinal substance.

Now, 50 years after this global campaign began, U.S. House Representatives Bonnie Watson Coleman and Cori Bush have revealed a bill to decriminalize drug possession.

For harder drugs, like heroin and opioids, addiction kills thousands of Americans every year, destroying families and ruining lives.

According to data on Dual Diagnosis, 50% of all jail inmates have drug or alcohol addiction, while fewer than 10% receive treatment.

Industrial hemp growers in Tennessee are required to renew their licenses with the Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TDA) by June 30, 2021.

“Hemp continues to be an important crop in Tennessee,” Commissioner Charlie Hatcher, D.V.M. said. “The marketplace is evolving and growers are finding new ways to use and market their crop. We want to see the industry flourish, and TDA has abundant resources to make sure growers have what they need.”

New applications are accepted year-round and expire June 30. New applicants and renewing applicants must submit an application, license fees, and required documentation. If a renewal application and payment are not received by the deadline, the grower’s license will expire June 30, 2021 at 4:30 p.m. CDT.

TDA plant certification staff are a resource for new and existing hemp growers who want assistance navigating and understanding regulations and requirements. Consultants in the Business Development Division support the hemp industry by helping create or expand businesses and promoting businesses through Pick Tennessee Products.

Pick Tennessee Products is TDA’s program that connects farmers directly to consumers. Hemp producers near you can be found at www.picktnproducts.org or on the Pick TN mobile app. Tennessee hemp growers, processors, and manufacturers can apply to be included in the directory at www.picktnproducts.org/apply-pick-tennessee-products-application.html.

Edibles have been a huge part of the marijuana industry since well before recreational legalization. And it seems no two states have identical regulations for edibles that define the product’s THC limits, portion delineation requirements or the allowed shapes/colors of edibles. As federal legalization edges closer, it’s important to track and understand not just the state-to-state differences in edible regulations, but also the similarities.

Edibles are often a point of contention with lawmakers and concerned citizens, as there are common fears of over-consumption, child poisoning and accidental ingestion, and the effects of edibles on individual people seem to vary widely compared to inhalation THC products.

Different state, different rules

Many states have taken a simple approach to regulating edibles, by mandating strict limits on the milligrams of THC allowed in edibles. Most states consistently mandate a maximum serving size of 5-10 milligrams of THC and a per-package limit of 50-100 milligrams THC. Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont and Washington all have recreational regulations that fall within these limits. The package limits are much higher in Illinois and Montana, at 500 milligrams and 800 milligrams, respectively.

Many producers would like to see increased THC limits per serving, especially in states that have 5 milligram-per-serving THC limits. Those who wish to expand or change regulations often face an uphill battle, as public health advocates and other third parties form a more active opposition than in other marijuana regulation proposals.

And then there's Alaska

This can be seen in Alaska’s recent proposal to change the milligram limit from 5 milligrams per serving to 10 milligrams per serving with a package limit of 100 milligrams. There has been a ton of heated public comment debating this issue, as it would be a 100% increase from the current 5-milligram limit. Edibles are testing in Alaska with a 20% margin of error allowance, creating an effective limit of 120 milligrams per package.

Industrial hemp growers in Tennessee are required to renew their licenses with the Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TDA) by June 30, 2021.

“Hemp continues to be an important crop in Tennessee,” Commissioner Charlie Hatcher, D.V.M. said. “The marketplace is evolving and growers are finding new ways to use and market their crop. We want to see the industry flourish, and TDA has abundant resources to make sure growers have what they need.”

New applications are accepted year-round and expire June 30. New applicants and renewing applicants must submit an application, license fees, and required documentation. If a renewal application and payment are not received by the deadline, the grower’s license will expire June 30, 2021 at 4:30 p.m. CDT.

Hemp has a bright future in Ireland, but government obstacles are reportedly standing in the way.

Sinn Féin is a republican and democratic socialist political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Sinn Féin spokesperson on Agriculture, Matt Carthy TD, says hemp cultivation can help farmers supplement their income in a more environmentally way.

“Uses for hemp include building material for houses, paper, clothes, heating oil and as a plastic alternative,” he said. “There is also an increasing demand for CBD health products, extracted by various approved methods from Hemp, both in Ireland and internationally.”

It takes the average laptop computer about a billionth of a second to add two numbers together. That’s far less time than it takes to blink your eyes or to take a sip of coffee. In fact, it’s fair to say that there are few activities that computers can’t do faster than people. Unfortunately, machines can only do as much as they are asked to.

Machines are faster than ever, but it can take humans years to realize that a particular question needs to be asked in the first place — this is the central paradox of computing today.

This is especially true in the cannabis industry, where things often seem to unfold slowly when they can be quickly solved with technology.

If you look at the arc of the industry, it’s been on a downward slope for about three years as the early hype and promise have given way to a far less rosy reality. And while everyone knows that things need to be fixed and that problems need to be addressed, it seems to be taking a long time to come up with coherent plans to right the ship. As a technologist working in the industry, I can only describe this approach as infuriating. It doesn’t need to be this way.

One of the biggest problems I see is that a lot of cannabis companies have multiple technology platforms that are not in sync with each other. In other words, a retail software system might not integrate with an accounting system, and neither of them integrates with a supply chain management system. And, yes, paper, spreadsheet, and whiteboard systems are included in my definition of technology here — these are most often the most common tools employed by producers. This requires people to go in and look at data from disparate systems and try to make sense of everything. And all of this needs to happen even before companies can take concrete steps to address particular issues or start to optimize.

Tax Money From Legal Cannabis Is Consistently Growing

Some states around the U.S. that have legalized recreational marijuana, have collectively made close to $8 billion in tax revenue. Which has been so since sales initially went legal back in 2014. This info was taken from the MMP who gathered the info on the matter. Furthermore, since then a great deal of innovation and progress has commenced for the cannabis industry.

The research evaluated the tax structure and revenue streams of all 18 states that have made recreational cannabis legal. However, there a 7 states where the sales have not started just yet. Overall, it reveals that building regulated marijuana markets gives states a constant and generally growing source of revenue. Which in turn can help aid various programs and services.

Back in 2020, states that have legalized recreational marijuana have generated $2.7 billion in taxes from cannabis sales. Also as more markets come online and others evolve, the overall full rec market is expected to continue to grow. For instance, in 2020 alone California brought in more than $1 billion in tax revenue from recreational marijuana. This made up a 62 percent increase from 2019.

Cannabis Tax Revenue Is Growing

One state that has been raising the bar with cannabis tax revenue is Illinois. This state has consistently been reaching higher monthly cannabis sales. This for the state has been happening since its legalized the adult use of cannabis program in January 2020. As well if the sales keep up, it could produce over $1 billion in tax revenue for 2021.

Just as the summer travel season kicks off, at the tail end of pandemic isolation no less, states and countries that allow recreational marijuana use are vying to be the next hotbed for cannabis tourism. 

Argentina is making steady progress in its quest to become synonymous with the cultivation of other plants besides its beloved Yerba Mate, namely cannabis and hemp.

Tax Money From Legal Cannabis Is Consistently Growing

Some states around the U.S. that have legalized recreational marijuana, have collectively made close to $8 billion in tax revenue. Which has been so since sales initially went legal back in 2014. This info was taken from the MMP who gathered the info on the matter. Furthermore, since then a great deal of innovation and progress has commenced for the cannabis industry.

If you feel like you’ve been catching a lot of Delta-8 THC content in the media lately, those aren’t just your social media apps hacking your brain. Hemp-derived Delta-8 THC is having a big moment in 2021 in terms of popularity and, most recently, in terms of concerns over legality, safety, and accuracy. This hot new cannabinoid has been branded as “legal marijuana” as the main intoxicating compound in cannabis but one most commonly derived from hemp for commercial use. Social listening data reveals that conversations around Delta-8 grew by a whopping 163% from December 2020 to April 2021, but all is not rosy for this latest trend in cannabis or for companies jumping into production to respond to the surging interest.

Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, and Montana are among the states that have explicitly banned sales of Delta-8 and at least four other states have already removed it from the shelves or otherwise restricted market access. The 2018 Farm Bill categorically removed hemp from the definition of marijuana and modified the definition of tetrahydrocannabinol to exclude tetrahydrocannabinol in hemp. The Drug Enforcement Agency’s interim rule turned that segment of the Farm Bill on its head, declaring derivatives of hemp containing delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol in excess of .3% THC and all synthetic cannabinoids as controlled substances. 

Delta-8, which does not occur in levels sufficient to make commercial products in a cost-effective manner and therefore must be processed from CBD, lands it in the “synthetic” category according to the DEA definition. Some argue that this categorization is flawed given that Delta-8 is a naturally existing phytocannabinoid and that converting CBD to THC occurs via isomerization (the transformation of one isomer into another)—a process that does not fall within the DEA’s definition of a synthetic process. Though solid regulatory footing remains hard to attain as the debate rages on, cannabis companies are forging ahead with new products and campaigns, with mixed results.

Delta 9 or Delta 8?

A recent study by Leafreport found that out of 38 products tested, 63% contained the wrong amount of Delta-8 and more than 50% had illegal (over .3%) levels of Delta-9, containing as much as 15.2% THC. Delta-9 THC and cannabis plants that contain it are federally illegal with the exception of hemp, which contains too little (.3% or less of dry weight) Delta-9 to cause psychoactive effects. 34% of products in the Leafreport study did not clearly list Delta-8 content on the label or online product description, and 68% contained the wrong amount Delta-8 THC. The products most vulnerable to misreported Delta-8 levels were pre-rolls and gummies. Leafreport used a rating system based on the recommendation of industry experts that Delta-8 products have anywhere from 90% to 110% of the amount stated on the label. Using this metric, a full 32% of the products tested merited an “F” (Fail) accuracy rating.

Women Are The Majority of Buyers

The Brightfield Group, a CBD and cannabis consumer data and marketing intelligence company, recently conducted a study to assess Delta-8 consumer, product, and regulatory trends and found that only six months into the Delta-8 trend, 23% of Americans were aware of it, particularly among younger, city-dwelling cannabis users. Brightfield’s numbers show that for a growing segment of the population, Delta-8 is an affordable, convenient way to experience psychoactive cannabis, particularly where Delta-9 is illegal. Women make up the majority (53%) of consumers and curiosity is still the driving factor for those who purchase Delta-8. A full 20% of Delta-8 consumers do not use Delta-9 THC, which points to something unique about Delta-8. Anecdotal evidence suggests that may be a smoother, milder high and fewer side effects like anxiety and paranoia. 

Medical cannabis offers benefits for many different ailments, and one of the predominant ones in medical literature is connected to sleep. Which part of the plant is responsible for this? It looks like cannabinoid CBN might be partially responsible, at least in conjunction with other elements of the plant. CBN sleep products are already becoming quite popular.

Delta-8 THC is a great reminder that not all THCs are created equally. Whereas delta-9 THC is known for causing anxiety in some users, and leading to couch-locking effects, delta-8 does neither of these things. This provides a better option for those disenfranchised with the anxiety and heaviness of delta-9. If you’re looking to switch up your THC, give our collection of Delta-8 THC deals a look-thru, and we’ll ship you out your products ASAP.

What is CBN?

We’re all pretty aware of what the cannabis plant is at this point. We’re all pretty aware, whether we agree with the statements or not, that there is a growing body of medical research in support of the positive benefits of marijuana for a number of different medical issues, as well as for recreational purposes. By now, most of us are even aware that the US designates higher-THC cannabis as marijuana, and lower-THC cannabis as hemp, with a cutoff line at .3% THC to make the designation.

When looking into the plant closer, we can designate different effects of the plant to different molecules like THC, CBD, and limonene. We know there are cannabinoids, terpenes, flavonoids, and other plant constituents, some of which are useful, and some of which we aren’t as concerned with. THC, of course, is the main psychoactive component, with a Schedule I spot in the Controlled Substances list of the US, while also being in Schedule I of both the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, and the Convention on Psychotropic Substances.

THC isn’t the only psychoactive compound though. Not only does delta-9 THC oxidize to form another version of THC called delta-8, but there are other cannabinoids – albeit showing up in very small quantities – that also have psychoactive properties, and one of these is CBN, or cannabinol.

The progressive language of the new bill takes an important step towards addressing the harms of the Drug War. But passing it is still a long shot. Here’s why.

Second verse, same as the first, a whole lot louder and a lot MORE woke.

The House of Representatives passed the first version of the MORE Act, which would deschedule cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act, at the end of 2020. The bill promptly died in the Republican-controlled Senate. This blog tracked the evolution of the bill’s original version:

Photo by MmeEmil/Getty Images

The House reintroducedthe second version of the bill on May 28th, 2021. This version is the same as the first with the addition of some progressive upgrades. Most notably, drafters of the bill removed language that barred applicants with felony cannabis convictions from federal permitting. This languageproved controversial at the time of the passage of the 2020 MORE Act. Denying federal permitting to those directly impacted by prohibition seemed counterintuitive to the stated intention of the bill, “to provide for reinvestment in certain persons adversely impacted by the War on Drugs.” Removing this language shows that Congress aims for an even more progressive vision of legalization this time around.

Each quarter, Cannabis & Tech Today speaks with innovative brands from around the country to discover who is leading the call for a more resilient, thoughtful, transparent cannabis industry.

This issue, we’re highlighting three brands receiving national attention for their commitment to excellence within the cannabis community. 

Clear Cannabis Inc.

Rich Batenburg Jr., has decades of experience developing scalable business models in various industries.

As president and chairman of Clear Cannabis, Inc., Batenburg is using his expertise to develop an infrastructure for the company capable of scaling to a national level.