WeedLife News Network

More than 40% of patients with multiple sclerosis have used cannabis or cannabinoid products in the last year, according to a study by researchers at the University of Michigan. The study, “Cannabinoid use among Americans with MS: Current trends and gaps in knowledge,” was published recently in Multiple Sclerosis Journal – Experimental, Translational and Clinical.

To conduct the research, investigators with the University of Michigan collected data from a nationwide sampling of more than 1,000 patients with multiple sclerosis. The study revealed that 42% of respondents reported using cannabis or cannabinoid-based therapies such as cannabidiol (CBD) in the prior year, a rate of use that is nearly twice that of the national average, according to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML).

“These national survey data highlight the rising prevalence of cannabinoid use in Americans with MS, and, among users, an abiding perception of benefit for multiple chronic symptoms,” the researchers wrote. 

Among the survey respondents who used cannabis or cannabinoid products, 90% said that their cannabis use was medicinal. The researchers noted that many patients with MS experience chronic symptoms that have an insufficient number of quality treatment options. More than half of all patients experience chronic pain, which can also affect sleep. At least 60% experience sleep disturbances, which can lead to fatigue and other chronic symptoms.

The lack of effective treatment options leads many patients with MS to seek out alternative therapies, including cannabis and cannabinoid products such as CBD. However, little information on the proper use and dosage of cannabis needed to effectively treat MS is available, leading the study’s authors to call for more research on the subject.

The tally of cannabis seizures at the Peace Bridge running between Canada and the U.S. increased yet again last week when U.S. border officers in Buffalo discovered a commercial shipment with more than a ton of weed.

An internal inspection of a commercial shipment of 20 pallets revealed 2,145 vacuum-sealed packages of cannabis weighing 2,410 pounds (1,093 kg), according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The haul was estimated to have a street value of north of US $8 million.

The seizure is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HIS).

Staff efforts and an enforcement-focused approach “have produced record-setting results for narcotics seizures within the Buffalo Field Office,” which covers 16 ports of entry throughout New York State, port director Jennifer De La O says of the Oct. 15 seizure.

Over the last couple of months, multi-million-dollar cannabis seizures in Buffalo have included 3,836 pounds (1,740 kg) of weed, 250 kg of dried cannabis flower and 505 kg of weed manifested as office furniture.

Will These Pot Stocks Show Bullish Interest Next Month?

A state district judge cleared the way for hundreds of patients to be re-authorized to participate in New Mexico’s medical marijuana program.

The ruling stemmed from a challenge of a mandate issued in September and a subsequent emergency rule adopted by the state health department just weeks later that placed additional requirements on some patients with medical marijuana cards from other states.

Ultra Health, the state’s largest cannabis company, asked the court to step in. It argued that the agency overstepped the intention of the state Legislature and created more hurdles for patients seeking to gain reciprocal admission into the New Mexico program.

Judge Matthew Wilson said the agency’s justification for adopting the emergency rule in early October was inadequate and therefore unenforceable.

“It’s important to patients who were already part of the program and got it taken away and patients who are in need of access. This was their only hope,” said a patient advocate.

Nextage Therapeutics has developed a system that allows cannabis molecules to cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and reach the brain directly. The technology is based on research done at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology and means that many side effects can be avoided and doses can be lowered in the medical use of cannabis.

Read entire article at Benzinga

The United States continues to have the largest prison population globally. Some 2.1 million Americans were incarcerated as of November 2018.

On the federal level, marijuana sentencing has dropped sharply in recent years. Just 92 individuals were sentenced for possession in 2017.

Yet according to Federal Bureau of Investigation data, officers on the state level made roughly 663,000 marijuana-based arrests in 2018, totaling 40% of those arrested for drugs that year.

Possession accounted for 92% of those arrested in 2018.

Will marijuana, like a lot of the region’s agricultural exports, get out of the continent as a primary product as investors and controllers of refining technology cream off the big bucks? Will fear triumph over logic as governments stick to old anti-narcotics control laws to lock citizens out of the value chain as foreign investors are licensed to set up weed farms for profit?

These are pertinent questions in light of the enduring inequalities that have kept farmers in perpetual poverty which appears to defy all interventions. Despite their thankless task of keeping nations fed, farmers remain so poor in Africa that in most places, they are derisively called peasants.

A reformed and equitable market for this new product can help distribute wealth and improve the social status of millions. There are other compelling reasons for A-Z production and processing of marijuana. The major application for medical marijuana is the management of chronic pain in patients suffering from terminal conditions such as cancer.

In recent times, Africa, and the developing world in general, have seen a surge in the non-communicable diseases case burden. Yet poverty means that healthcare systems cannot afford these painkillers used in palliative care.

In 2014, for instance, 80 percent of the world’s population — mainly low and middle-income countries — consumed only 9.5 percent of the morphine used in palliative care. That is according to the International Narcotics Control Board which in 2018 found that 79 percent of the global population, still consumed only 1 percent of the 388 tonnes of the morphine manufactured worldwide that year.

On 18 September 2020, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the securities regulatory authority in the United Kingdom, released long-awaited guidance for cannabis companies considering a listing in the United Kingdom on a regulated market, such as the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange. Whilst preliminary in nature and subject to further consultation, the guidance is welcome news for UK investors and suggests increasing openness by UK regulators to the medicinal cannabis sector.

Since the reclassification in 2018 of cannabis under the Misuse of Drugs (Amendments) (Cannabis and Licence Fees) (England, Wales and Scotland) Regulations 2018, cannabis can be prescribed by specialised medical professionals based in the United Kingdom in certain circumstances. However, the recreational use of cannabis remains illegal in the United Kingdom.

Notwithstanding that cannabis for medicinal purposes was decriminalised in 2018, companies engaged in medicinal cannabis activities (or which have exposure to proceeds therefrom) which have sought a listing in the UK have encountered many inquiries from the FCA in relation to the UK Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (PoCA) (discussed in more detail below).

The FCA Approach

In the recent guidance, the FCA sets out the circumstances in which it would admit a cannabis-related company for listing on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange in the United Kingdom. The guidance does not apply to companies seeking to list on Alternative Investment Market (AIM) but it is expected that a similar approach will be adopted by AIM.

Recreational cannabis has been legal for adult use in Maine since 2016. However, it took until recently for the “Pine Tree State” to open its first cannabis stores.

One of the biggest issues Maine faced was it narrowly received the popular vote for legalization four years ago. The state needed new administrations and the right cannabis legislation before it could open the door to legal sales. Not to mention, the COVID-19 pandemic has only thwarted these plans.

Finally, on October 9, Maine got the okay to open up recreational cannabis shops for business. However, this didn’t come without a new set of problems.

FARMERS IN Ireland are set to ask the government to legalise medical cannabis so they may become 'major players' in the cultivation of the plant.

The Irish Farmers Association are set to ask the government to consider legalising access to cannabis for medicinal reason, which would allow the plant to be grown by farmers in the Irish countryside.

The trade is growing quickly worldwide,and some countries, such as Canada and the United States, have legalised it for recreational use for those over the age of 18.

The IFA have asked the Department of Health for a meeting on the matter of medical cannabis, with a letter to the department implying Ireland could become a 'major player' in the production of the plant on an industrial scale.

In the letter, seen by The Sunday Times, IFA representative Fintan Conway said there was huge potential in the market for "industrial hemp, CBD oil and medicinal cannabis" thanks to Ireland's temperate climate and soil type.

Missouri's first licensed marijuana dispensaries opened this weekend in the St. Louis area with long lines.

The two dispensaries run by N'Bliss opened Saturday in Ellisville and Manchester. Another dispensary is expected to open Monday in the Kansas City area nearly two years after Missouri voters approved a constitutional amendment to allow the sale of medical marijuana.

To buy the drug, people need approval from a doctor and a state medical marijuana card. Prices are expected to be high initially because the supply is limited in the state at this stage. N'Bliss was charging $125 for an eighth of an ounce of marijuana when it opened Saturday.

Kim Haller said she stood in line Saturday because she has long been frustrated with the high cost of medications and injections she uses to treat her multiple sclerosis. Recently, Haller said she had been buying marijuana from a licensed caregiver.

"It helps with my spasticity, which means my muscles don't move like I like them to, and sleep," Haller, 54, of St. Peters, said of the marijuana treatment.

Last week, California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) signed a handful of cannabis-related bills into law. Among the biggest changes are updates to the state’s banking laws, and while overall positive, the potential of AB 1525 is severely limited.

As anyone in the industry already knows, cannabis professionals have long struggled to gain access to banking and other financial services for their businesses. AB (Assembly Bill) 1525, signed last Tuesday by Gov. Newsom, removes any penalties previously imposed on banks for working with legal cannabis companies.

In his signing statement on the banking bill, Newsom directed state cannabis regulators to establish rules meant to protect the privacy of marijuana businesses that seek financial services, urging that data be kept confidential and is used only “for the provision of financial services to support licensees.”

“This bill has the potential to increase the provisions of financial services to the legal cannabis industry,” Newsom wrote in a signing statement, “and for that reason, I support it.”

Very Little Help

Newsom isn’t not wrong, this bill definitely has that potential, but it remains only that until cannabis becomes legal at the federal level. Regardless of state laws, banks, which are federal entities, have been hesitant to work with cannabis clients because the plant’s Schedule 1 status.

For reference, a Schedule 1 narcotic is categorized that way because there is a “high risk of abuse and no recognized medical value.” Despite the decades of research in other countries or the fact that medical cannabis is accepted in 33 states already. It’s also worth mentioning Cocaine, which has some anesthetic properties but is known for its high propensity for abuse, is categorized as Schedule II. Alcohol and tobacco aren’t scheduled at all. Yes, it’s the ultimate hypocrisy.

Chris Leanzo didn’t have any experience in farming when he put 155 hemp plants into the ground this June.

One of the first 59 farmers to receive a license to grow hemp in New Jersey, Leanzo mentally prepared to only harvest 20 plants this fall from his Frelinghuysen, Warren County farm. But even after facing spider mites and inch worms as well as a dry and cold September, the farm may net some 50 pounds of hemp from its 130 successful plants.

That far surpasses his cautious estimates, and could have him making a profit on their first season.

But as the state eyes marijuana legalization via a ballot question this November, the promise and struggles of hemp farming have become secondary to New Jersey’s race to become the first state in the region to offer legal marijuana. That industry is expected to bring hundreds of millions in tax revenue as well as new jobs.

“As small farmers, we all share this unified struggle of fear of losing the market before we had a fair share of even getting it,” Leanzo said.

A new report from the Cannabis Council of Canada, which represents some of the country’s largest licensed producers, including Canopy Growth, Tilray, and Cronos Group, has graded the government’s performance over the first two years of legalization with a ‘C’ average.

Led by president and CEO George Smitherman, the former Minister of Health, the council seeks to be a national voice for producers, focusing on the development, growth, and integrity of the legal industry. The report card was informed by a national survey of 2,000 Canadians.

As part of that focus, the council has released a legalization report card, offering grades on 10 issues, including cannabis amnesty, medical patient access, and the efforts to combat the illicit market.

Support for cannabis legalization: B+

Public support for legalization has remained robust and consistent, the report says, with the percentage of Canadians who oppose the legal industry dropping modestly year-over-year to 24 per cent.

Keeping cannabis away from children and youth: B+

Citing Statistics Canada, the report states that cannabis use among 15- to 17-year-olds fell by nearly 10 per cent in the first year of legalization. Reducing youth access to cannabis was one of the core planks of the Cannabis Act.

The East African Community could become a mass producer of medical cannabis for export to fast-growing markets in the West.

This is after Rwanda on October 12 became the latest EAC partner state to approve medical cannabis production for export, following closely in the footsteps of Uganda.

Tanzania and Kenya, which produce the largest amounts of cannabis in the region, are yet to legalise the commodity and so it is exported illegally.

Rwanda government officials said the decision to legalise the export of medical marijuana was based on the revenue potential for the country. 

Studies show that CBD can help regulate and stabilize skin function. It’s also anti-inflammatory. Here’s what else it can do for your skincare routine. 

The end of summer is always a bit of a bummer. With fall comes the rush of the back to (virtual) school season, upcoming family holidays to think about, and of course, cooler weather.  

As the weather turns, you’ll need more layers and will have to put the sandals and swimsuits away. But one of the biggest drawbacks of the cooler temps might be for your skin. As the weather gets cooler, your skin may feel less hydrated than it did all summer. Plus you may experience itchiness, breakouts, and even chapped lips.  

Once the weather chills, CBD applied topically can help a lot with some of your skin’s top woes. Here’s why.   

Hydrates your skin 

Studies have found that topical CBD products are effective to hydrate the skin. That’s because of the infusion of oils and Vitamins A, C, and E that can help deeply moisturize and protect skin. It’s also thanks to the antioxidant-rich properties of CBD. Antioxidants are important for dehydrated skin because they can help protect against free-radical damage which can lead to skin looking more dehydrated and with more fine lines and wrinkles.  

If you’re looking to grow your knowledge about hemp, take a look at some of these facts and spread them far and wide

1. Hemp cultivation dates back more than 10,000 years

Many civilizations throughout time have grown hemp and utilized the plant for a number of items from food to fiber. The ancient use of hemp has been traced to many countries including China, Egypt, Russia, Greece and Italy.

2. It used to be illegal to not grow hemp

There was once a time in American history when farmers could actually be fined or jailed for not growing hemp. Because it was such a valuable crop in Virginia, the Assembly of Jamestown Colony passed legislation in 1619 making it mandatory for every farmer to grow Indian hempseed.

3. Hemp was hailed as a billion dollar crop before the government banned it

In an article written in 1938, “Popular Mechanics” declared hemp a new cash crop. It was touted as the standard fiber of the world that was easy to grow and poised to replace imported materials and manufactured products.

4. Hemp can restore unhealthy soil

Thanks to its botanical properties, hemp can actually leave soil better off than when it started by rejuvenating the dirt with nutrients and nitrogen. This helps clean up toxins, heavy metals and other pollutants from the ground through a process called phytoremediation.

Anti-cannabis campaigners say the minimum age of 20 to use and purchase weed wouldn't stop young people from feeling the harm of legalisation.

Marijuana can halt motivation for young people, leading to them dropping out of school and stunting their development, and it can cause mental health issues like psychosis.

But those issues are already happening in New Zealand, and international examples show Canada's youth usage rates dropped after legalisation.

Diana Ranger has seen the worst of cannabis use in young people.

Her nephew was forced to take the drug by a gang when he was 10, and she said he suffered from psychosis as a result.

Time is running out to make cannabis legalization a reality in Mexico.

Two years ago, the country’s Supreme Court ruled that the ban on adult-use, recreational cannabis was unconstitutional. Mexican lawmakers were given a one-year deadline, until October 2019, to amend the country’s regulations.

They not only missed that deadline, they then missed the rescheduled deadline of April 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Now, with a Dec. 15 deadline looming, lawmakers have just 61 days to pass a cannabis bill and there are still more questions than answers about what Mexico’s approach to legalization will look like.

In August, Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador assured that legalization was in the works, stating that “there is going to be legal reform” when lawmakers reconvened in the fall.

Around the world, hemp has a varying degree of allowance in how it’s grown or ingested.

The UK, however, is unique in how it handles hemp.

In this article we will explore the ironic and limited ways hemp can be sourced via the UK’s farming industry.

Specifically how this affects British hemp farmers, in what they can do to earn a living so we can show their plight.