WeedLife News Network

With an influx of states transitioning to adult-use markets and the U.S. Senate signaling its intention to move forward on cannabis reform, federal legalization is imminent. Industry stakeholders and mainstream business leaders alike are preparing for the seismic shift that legal cannabis will likely experience once federal prohibition ends.

In the near future, the cannabis industry may finally have access to interstate commerce and mainstream financial and banking services. These long-awaited changes will not only generate windfall profits but also have a tremendous impact on cannabis retail, especially within the e-commerce space.

Clinical outcomes of the first cohort of patients captured in the UK Medical Cannabis Registry are encouraging.

One of the arguments against medical cannabis is the lack of quality evidence supporting its use. This is rapidly changing, with a bunch of studies being carried out around the world. One of the sources of good quality and comprehensive observational data are formalised patient registries.

Initiated by clinicians at Sapphire Medical Clinics, the UK Medical Cannabis Registry is the first database of its kind in the UK. It’s designed to collate outcomes on medical cannabis prescribing. The data it captures includes prescribed formulations, adverse events and patient-reported outcomes. Anonymised data is made available on request to the medical community for analysis.

Sapphire says the Registry will:

A study has been recently published based on the clinical outcomes of the first 129 patients enrolled in the Registry.

Historically, cannabis was portrayed as the scourge of humankind. Films like ‘Reefer Madness’ were coupled with other forms of propaganda and spread throughout the world.

That propaganda had one goal – to demonize cannabis users. Cannabis consumers were portrayed in horrific ways that weren’t based in fact in an attempt to convince society that the ‘harms’ of cannabis were significant and factual.

The fact of the matter is that cannabis is much safer than many other legal substances, including and especially alcohol.

One study found that cannabis was 114 times safer than alcohol. A more recent study found that cannabis may actually be able to reduce alcohol cravings.

CBD and Alcohol Consumption Study

The cannabis plant is composed of dozens of cannabinoids, with THC and CBD being the two most popular cannabinoids.

It wasn’t that long ago that cannabis industry investment opportunities were very limited as policy change happens often. In some ways they still are, but not nearly as limited as in years past.

Thanks to cannabis reform victories the legal cannabis industry is allowed to operate in more regions than during the prohibition era.

Many countries still prohibit medical cannabis, and a vast majority of countries do not permit adult-use cannabis, however, the winds of change have been picking up for years now.

Brightfield Releases New CBD Report

Cannabis and CBD consumer data analytics company, The Brightfield Group, is announcing the release of their newest report analyzing the CBD market in 2020 and laying out their predictions for 2021. Some key information from the report includes: 

A new study is going straight to healthcare workers in the U.S. and Canada to get their input on their experiences with and advice about medical cannabis.

The exploration is part of a recently announced study that will involve the Cannabis Center of Excellence, Inc. (CCOE), Medicinal Genomics and the University of Massachusetts’ Dartmouth Charlton College of Business, Cannabis Science and Technology reports.

The aptly named “Healthcare Provider Knowledge, Attitudes, Practices Related to Medical Cannabis Research Study” will collect information from practising healthcare providers “about their experiences with medicinal cannabis in their practices, prior education around the topic and interest in future clinical education related to medical cannabis,” notes an earlier CCOE announcement.

Dr. Marion McNabb, president of CCOE, points out that even “the basics of the endocannabinoid system, medical cannabis benefits and risks, and approaches to integrating medical cannabis use” are not part of the regular curriculum for most health professionals, Cannabis Science and Technology reports. This includes those in medical, nursing, dental, public health, emergency medicine and addiction and recovery, Dr. McNabb says.

As evidence regarding the efficacy of cannabis continues to emerge and actual use in treatment snowballing, “this study seeks to hear from healthcare providers themselves about what they know and want to know about medical cannabis, and how its use can be integrated into their practices,” she adds.

Working out while enjoying a cannabis high is a popular habit for a reason. Here’s how to do it safely.

The influence of marijuana’s legalization has had wide ranging implications, from attracting a more varied base of users to the production of a larger selection of products. It’s also launched a growing “weed and workout” following.

Many people call their weed workouts invigorating and joyful, going against the harmful and pervasive lazy stoner stereotype. Cannabis has always been pretty malleable. Once you know how to use it, you can pretty much add it onto any activity and obtain positive results. Still, whenever you ingest a substance, it’s very important to prioritize your health and well being.

Here are a few tips that can make your workouts on weed safer and just as efficient:

Start off small

Photo by Alessandro Zambon via Unsplash

The U.S. cannabis industry is growing at an incredibly fast rate and bursting with opportunity for shrewd long-term investors. A number of pot stocks have reported double- or even triple-digit balance sheet gains during the pandemic and surged to new all-time highs in the process. And it's not too late for new investors to seize on the upside potential these top marijuana stocks have to offer.

Today, we're going to take a look at two such companies that have built on a strong track record of growth throughout the pandemic and have plenty of growth left for investors to tap into. 

Let's jump right in. 

There seems to be a new bud on the block that people are turning to for a legal high in Texas.

It's called "Delta 8 THC" and for now... it's being sold legally at CBD retailers.

Delta 8 comes in the form of chips, gummies, chocolates, even bath bombs.

It's not just junk food feeding the craze either, it comes in all the old-school ways to get that ‘altered state.’

When asked, "Do these products get you high?" CloudPonics owner Toyice Garrett said, "Absolutely, yes they do."

After the legalization of medical marijuana in Germany in 2017, there has been a surge in interest from both patients who may benefit from cannabinoids and companies that produce and sell the drug.

Patients who meet the criteria for medicinal cannabis use and have failed to respond to traditional medicine will now expect to receive cannabis-based medications, though marijuana products are still out of reach for those looking to use them recreationally.

We will discuss some main points about the legal and political status of cannabis in Germany.

Is it legal to own and use cannabis in Germany?

The German Federal Narcotics Act makes it illegal to possess cannabis in Germany. If found in possession of certain drugs, the criminal faces a maximum sentence of five years in jail.

Cannabis use, on the other hand, is not classified as a crime. If a criminal is found with small quantities of cannabis for personal use, the legislation provides several options for punishment. These options are chosen based on the following criteria:

It seems as though everyday we catch news of yet another state making strides to legalize medical cannabis.

For those who rely on the healing properties of cannabis to improve their health, it’s great to see that more people will have access to safe, non-habit forming medicine.

This time, we’re talking about Alabama. 

On Monday, Alabama became the 37th state to legalize medical marijuana, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, becoming the second market in the Deep South.

Republican Governor Kay Ivey signed the historic bill, which will allow businesses to start applying for licenses Sept 1. 2022. 

Move over, nutrition facts – food companies and consumer packaged goods manufacturers are adding carbon-footprint labels to their products in an effort to be transparent about their environmental impact. Now hemp and marijuana companies are considering whether to jump on a trend experts say will intensify as governments double down on climate goals.

President Biden pledged last week to cut U.S. greenhouse gas pollution in half by 2030.

Lumber has been one of the most common building materials in construction for a very long time.

It is not the most popular building material on earth, as that distinction goes to concrete. However, wood is still very popular and has been for centuries.

Houses, wagons, bridges, and a number of other things have been made out of wood in many different countries throughout the world both historically and currently.

Unfortunately, prices for lumber have increased exponentially this year, which may ultimately prove to be a blessing to the global hemp industry.

Exploding Prices for Lumber

Lumber is a commodity that is traded around the world. Virtually every country on earth uses lumber for various purposes.

It’s been somewhat like pulling teeth, but the United States Drug Enforcement Administration has moved closer to allowing more growers to produce marijuana for research purposes.

While hemp was made legal at a Federal level with the signing of the 2018 Farm Bill into law, cannabis not meeting the definition of hemp is still considered marijuana in the USA, and therefore illegal.

This causes all sorts of problems for the industry, including relating to important research that needs to occur.

Currently, all federally-approved studies of medical cannabis must source their product from a single entity, the National Center for the Development of Natural Products at University of Mississippi. It has been the only legal source for more than 40 years. The quality of cannabis from the facility has been called into question in the past.

Cannabis research in the USA has been seriously impeded by the DEA’s stance on the issue. However, it has been taking steps to permit an increase in the number of growers authorised to grow marijuana for research purposes. The process has taken years so far.

Here is the good news when it comes to issue of regulating cannabinoids. Last month, the European Commission added Cannabigerol (CBG) to the Cosing List—namely the regional database of allowable ingredients in cosmetics. This after adding natural CBD as an approved substance the month before.

The process of regulating cannabinoids in Europe is well underway. From one perspective, this makes sense. Each cannabinoid is a unique chemical compound. So are other components of the plant—such as terpenes. However, so far, there has never been a regulatory investigation of the entire plant, compound by compound by any national or regional authority. The EU approach to regulation is, in other words, highly unique in the history of the plant itself.

How does this procedure of regulating cannabinoids at the European level integrate with approval of cannabis for both medical and non-medical use? And for what purpose?

The Process of Regulating Cannabinoids For All Uses

Part of the difference now being seen in Europe with regards to regulatory approaches is that first and foremost, certainly after acceptance of its medical efficacy, cannabis as a plant genus is dealt with as a naturally occurring mixture of many different chemical compounds. This is easy to see in the 2019 European Parliament resolution on the same. Namely the EP called on the European Commission (EC) to regulate the drug by its chemical components, given its recognized medical efficacy.

Governor Greg Gianforte on Tuesday signed the Montana adult-use cannabis bill that will establish a newly formed recreational marijuana program in the state, months after voters in Big Sky country approved a measure to legalize pot.

Gianforte, a Republican in his first term as governor of Montana, attached his name to House Bill 701, which paves the way for the state to become the latest to implement a program overseeing legal adult-use pot sales. 

The Daily Montanan reports that the bill “implements and regulates the recreational marijuana program that voters approved in a ballot initiative last year and funds a substance abuse prevention program that the new governor has championed since his first days in office,” with sales for customers 21 years and older slated to begin in January of next year.

According to the Daily Montanan, “the half of Montana counties that voted for I-190, the ballot initiative legalizing adult-use cannabis, will have recreational in their borders by default, while voters in the the other half of counties will have to take an affirmative action to bring recreational marijuana in their boundaries if so desired.” 

Other provisions in the bill, per the Daily Montanan, include a tax rate of 20 percent on recreational pot sales (compared with five percent on medical marijuana sales), while also shifting “the operation and regulation of the state’s marijuana program from the Department of Public Health and Human Services to the Department of Revenue.”

If there is one substance you hear about a lot right now it is cannabis. Some people are against the use of this ‘drug’ while others swear their life has been improved by using by-products of the cannabis sativa plant. So, are there studies and science to back up the claims that cannabis offers health benefits? Indeed, there is evidence that this natural plant and the cannabinoids it contains may offer health benefits. So, let’s take a closer look.

Relieving Chronic Pain

Do you live with chronic pain? Taking NSAIDs and other medications are often discouraged if you have stomach issues and due to their addictive nature. So, people often look for an alternative that can help with pain management. Indeed, this is where cannabis comes in. Research has shown that this plant has the ability to reduce pain for people suffering from arthritis, migraines, fibromyalgia and even endometriosis.

Help with Stress and Anxiety

A large number of people struggle with stress and anxiety on a daily basis. The demands of work and problems in your personal life can leave you suffering psychologically, and this can take a toll on your physical health too. Thus, people have long been searching for a way to help them relieve their symptoms and to encourage better emotions. As you may have guessed, this is why a lot of people are trying cannabis and CBD products. Studies have suggested that it might be able to have a positive impact on serotonin, which is an essential hormone for regulating your moods.

Help for Hepatitis

There is some suggestion that  the effect cannabis has on the liver might be able to help those that have hepatitis, which is a condition that commonly leads to inflammation of the liver. For a long time, there has been research to find new medications and therapeutics for those that are suffering from hepatitis. There is now hope that CBD could be the answer, as a study revealed that it could stop the virus from replicating.

Improved Quality of Sleep

Many people around the world struggle to fall asleep and enjoy quality rest. This can lead to mood swings and tiredness the next day which affects productivity and the enjoyment of activities. But, the good news is that studies on cannabis suggest that this may be a substance that can improve your quality of sleep. It is not clear whether this is a plant that can improve sleep directly or if it was due to indirect effects. For example, cannabis may have enabled someone with anxiety to relax or relieve discomfort, which leads to a better quality of sleep. Either way, it might be the way to enjoy better rest.

Following months of discussion, Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare is set to approve the use of pharmaceuticals containing cannabis as an ingredient in Japan, according to public broadcaster NHK.

The Japanese legal system takes a particularly hardline stance against drugs, and even the possession of a small amount of marijuana is generally treated as a major crime. However, following the approval of cannabis-based medicines in many other nations, at the beginning of the year the ministry formed a committee to discuss whether Japan should follow suit, with the effectiveness of such medications in treating sufferers of refractory epilepsy and as a pain suppressant for cancer patients.

The allowance will require amendments to Japan’s Cannabis Control Law, which currently forbids the use and importation of such medicines. Lifting the prohibition would ostensibly also allow Japanese pharmaceutical makers, with proper licensing, to produce cannabis-based medications of their own.

However, this doesn’t mean that the substance is going to be decriminalized in all forms and applications. It’s likely that the revision will allow for the use of cannabis only for specific medical conditions, and “anxiety” may not qualify, given the Japanese medical system’s comparative aversion to treating mental health issues with medication. Likewise, the lifting of the ban will not allow international travelers to bring as large a supply of cannabis-based pharmaceuticals as they want into Japan, much as how you can’t get through customs with a suitcase full of any other meds that require a prescription within Japan.

It’s also important to bear in mind that the revision appears to be specifically for cannabis-based medicines, not marijuana leaves, and strictly for legitimate medical purposes. Recreational marijuana use in Japan will still get you in as much trouble as it did before, and possibly even more. Possession and cultivation of marijuana are already crimes in Japan, and the ministry is considering amending the Cannabis Control Law to make the act itself of smoking marijuana a crime as well, at the same time that it lifts the ban on cannabis-based medicines.