WeedLife News Network

You may not think a fourth-generation family business with a century of engineering excellence would play a part in the still-evolving cannabis industry.

And yet, this kind of expertise and technology is a strong fit for an industry where product quality is paramount.

For cannabis producers, preserving the integrity of the plant, in terms of flavonoids, cannabinoids, and terpenes is essential.

It’s these chemical compounds that lend the plant its unique features and effects.

But historically, imprecise processing equipment tended to destroy these valuable aspects of the plant while also releasing undesirable, potentially contaminated byproducts.

Nearly 50 pieces of cannabis legislation have been introduced during the 2019-2020 legislative session of the U.S. Congress. These various bills, amendments, resolutions and laws represent a busy year for marijuana activity on Capitol Hill. While many have been introduced, much remains the same. With only the House of Representatives appearing remotely close to voting on anything, cannabis regulations aren’t likely to move at all before Election Day 2020. 

That said, several pieces of legislation could advance rules in critical areas from law enforcement to access. Sources tell High Times that of the proposed pieces of legislation, two stand out among the rest for their ability to influence America.

The SAFE Banking Act 

H.R.1595, better known as the Secure And Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act of 2019, was for some time in 2020, the most discussed and likely to pass piece of legislation cannabis has seen in ages. 

If passed, the bill would provide protections to banks, allowing institutions to work with the cannabis industry without fear of federal repercussions. The bill provides assurance to marijuana and hemp operators who continually face rejections from banks. Even when accepted as a customer, numerous operators have found their accounts shut down once the bank became aware of the operator’s business. 

Hans Enriquez, CEO of Dazed Inc. cannabis brand, stated that the SAFE Banking Act would be the most substantial piece of legislation for the industry. Enriquez highlighted the cannabis industry’s ability to bank like any other industry as the most substantial bill aspect. 

The Ohio Department of Commerce has issued a mandatory recall on medical cannabis edibles due to noncompliant levels of heavy metals, according to a Cincinnati.com report.

The cannabis-infused chocolates, sold under the Encore Edibles brand, were processed by Canton-based Mother Grows Best and sold in eight dispensaries across the state between Aug. 17 and Oct. 1, the news outlet reported.

The reports from the World Health Organization (WHO) estimate that asthma affects 339 million people worldwide. It has definitely earned a spot as one of the chronic ailments that could use an effective, natural treatment.

With CBD becoming more and more popular, some asthmatics have decided to give it a leap of faith. Many people, however, are concerned whether CBD and asthma are actually a good match.

CBD (cannabidiol) is the non-intoxicating compound of hemp or marijuana plants. It has created the latest gold-rush in the wellness industry thanks to its versatility and an excellent safety profile.

Hemp-derived CBD is legal in all 50 states under the 2018 Farm Bill. You can find it over the counter in health retail outlets, dispensaries, and vape shops. It comes in tinctures, capsules, edibles, topicals, vapes, and even pet products.

But can CBD actually help asthma sufferers reduce the symptoms of their illness?

People suffering from inflammatory bowel disease, which leads to chronic inflammation, are on the fast track to colon cancer, but prevention might begin with cannabis.

Young adults typically brush off the risk of colon cancer as an old man’s disease, yet the illness is becoming increasingly common in people under the age of 50. Consider the tragic outcome of Black Panther’s Chadwick Boseman, who died at age 43 after a heroic battle with colon cancer—despite his otherwise impeccable physique and health. 

A class of conditions exhibiting variable levels of severity are called inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)—difficult-to-treat conditions ranging from ulcerative colitis to Crohn’s disease. IBD can lead to chronic inflammation, which can lead to oncogenesis, or progress into cancer. Colon cancer, in particular, is a disease with relatively grim survival rates and only a handful of viable options for treatment. In 2015, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted that 1.3% of all U.S. adults reported receiving a diagnosis for IBD, and the condition usually creates a domino effect of other symptoms.

New research, however, suggests that cannabis’ psychoactive compound delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) could help prevent colitis-associated colon cancer in mice.

A team of researchers associated with the University of South Carolina (USC) in Columbia observed the effects of THC in mouse models to evaluate the potential efficacy of the compound in preventing colon cancer in humans. The team’s research was published last month in an issue of iScience.

Legal cannabis sales continue to break records in Illinois with a total of more than $99 million in sales of both recreational and medical marijuana products sold in September, according to state regulators. The figure tops the previous record for total cannabis sales from August, when combined sales totaled more than $95 million, according to data from the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.

“We are not surprised to see another record month for cannabis sales in September approaching $100 million,” said a spokesperson for Chicago-based Green Thumb Industries, a multi-state operator with facilities in 12 legal cannabis markets in the United States. 

“Consumer demand remains strong throughout the ongoing COVID-19 crisis and we expect industry growth to continue as operators ramp up capacity to increase supply, new stores open throughout the state, and existing stores add adult-use sales,” the spokesperson continued in the statement emailed to High Times, noting that a new location of its Rise brand of dispensaries will be opening in Naperville, Illinois this week.

September sales of adult-use cannabis products, at more than $67 million, also eclipsed figures from August, when sales were just shy of $64 million. Legal sales of recreational marijuana began in Illinois at the beginning year, with more than $39 million in sales posted in January. Following a slight dip in February sales at more than $34 million, the total for recreational marijuana products has increased each subsequent month. 

Since the launch of recreational marijuana sales in Illinois in January, nearly 9.5 million cannabis products totaling more than $431 million have been sold. Sales figures do not include the taxes collected on adult-use cannabis sales.

The stock market can be the best place to create wealth because of the endless opportunities it offers to grow your money -- you can back anything from value plays to rule-breaking mavericks. Whatever your style, you'll want to put your cash behind companies that can grow their revenue. Some of the most promising can be found in the cannabis sector.

Cannabis is one of the fastest-growing industries across the world. In the U.S. in particular, the sector is expanding at a rapid pace; 11 states and Washington, D.C., have legalized marijuana completely, while 33 states and D.C. have done so for medical purposes. Voters in five other states are voting on some form of legalization in November.

The cannabis business is a sprawling, unfriendly hydra, destroyer of serious men with good intentions.

It all sounded so promising.  

Medicine Man Technologies, one of the more highly respected dispensary and cultivation operations in Denver, run by a well-respected cannabis business executive considered a pioneer in the industry, President and Co-Founder Andy Williams, rebranded the name of its subsidiary in mid-April to perhaps capture the whimsy of an industry built on getting people high. 

Most of us like to believe that scientific inquiry is governed by a spirit of curiosity and neutrality, investigating the subject of study from every possible angle. Unfortunately, when it comes to cannabis research in the United States, the approach has been largely one-sided.

According to a new analysis of cannabis research funding in the US, Canada, and the UK, about $1.56 billion went toward cannabis research between 2000 and 2018. Roughly half of that funded research focused on the potential harms of cannabis.

Individual years proved even worse. For example, in 2018, research on potential harms of cannabis received more than 20 times more funding than research on cannabis therapeutics.

What’s more, the biggest chunk of the money (about $1 billion) came from the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), a federal government agency. According to the analysis, NIDA put far more money to research cannabis misuse and its adverse effects than on the therapeutic potential of cannabis.

“The government’s budget is a political statement about what we value as a society,” Daniel Mallinson, a cannabis policy researcher at Pennsylvania State University, Harrisburg, told Science Magazine. “The fact that most of the cannabis money is going to drug abuse and probably to cannabis use disorder versus medical purposes—that says something.” 

Israel Health Minister Yuli Edelstein and Deputy Health Minister Yoav Kisch have announced a new subsidy program that will reduce the cost of medical cannabis products until the end of 2020 and also allow Israeli producers to export their products.

Will Pot Stocks Continue Recent Downtrends?

Here we are, in the month of October, and marijuana stocks are showing downward pressure because of COVID again. With recent concerns over president Donald Trump contracting the Coronavirus the market is feeling the effect. On top of that, you have a miss in September job growth that suggests the recovery is slowing up. Once again, the reality and graveness of this pandemic is brought to the forefront of market stability.

When Randy Strode and (partner at the time) Gerry Abner bought a property off Kelly Park Road in Apopka, FL, in 1984, it marked the humble beginnings of Agri-Starts, Inc. The little trailer lab and Quonset hoop houses only totaled about 6,500 square feet. But since that time, through continued diversification and innovation, the nursery is now home to 210,000 square feet of greenhouses — and in need of more space. Ty Strode, the President of Agri-Starts, took over day-to-day management of operations from his father at the beginning of this year.

For many decades THC was the most popular and well-known cannabinoid.

That has changed in recent years to some extent.

THC is still very popular, however, other cannabinoids have seen their popularity increase recently, with CBD seeing the most dramatic increase in popularity and awareness.

Google search trends show that CBD is queried more often than THC, and that has been the case for a few years now.

Interest in CBD is clearly on the rise, but what about actual use? 

One issue that’s unanimous by numerous doctors and researchers is the importance of disclosing cannabis consumption patterns with a physician.

Cannabis is so much more than a plant that can get consumers high. It’s an alternative medicine, a natural remedy, and a difference-making plant that can improve lives. Although cannabis has numerous therapeutic and medicinal properties, when it’s consumed along with prescribed or non-prescribed medications, adverse side effects can occur, which can be harmful to one’s health. Even though nobody has died from a cannabis overdose so far, there are concerns about combining cannabis products with various medications.

Here’s why it’s crucial to discuss cannabis consumption patterns with a doctor or healthcare provider.

Concerns & Lack of Research Findings

As time goes on, more of cannabis’s health benefits are being discovered. However, limited research exists on the effects caused from combining cannabis with different pharmaceutical medications or over-the-counter meds. Just like with other drugs, when cannabis is combined with different medications, certain side effects can arise, which may be negative and detrimental to one’s health and well-being.

For years, researchers have tried determining how prescribed and non-prescribed medications interact with different cannabinoids. Despite the variety of studies that are underway about this topic, do you know how complex the cannabis plant is? It contains more than 400 already discovered chemicals and over sixty cannabinoids! But, there’s still much to learn about other cannabinoids, their safety profiles, and their effects

The long-awaited launch of Maine’s recreational cannabis market will likely fall short of expectations, with some shops unsure if they will even have marijuana to sell, much less the THC-infused food and drinks readily available on the state’s existing medical market.

One state-approved shop said it may skip opening day altogether, its owners unsure whether they will have any products to sell Friday, the state’s first official day of adult-use sales. Retailers blame a licensing backlog for the expected shortages. Regulators agree, but say that’s what happens when you try to launch a new market during a global pandemic.

With the lockdown restrictions easing, COVID-19 remains a very serious health threat worldwide. Dozens of coronavirus vaccines are in development across the world in combined global effort with high hopes to bring one to the market in record time to ease the global crisis.

One interesting candidate is cannabidiol or CBD. Recent research shows it may help fight COVID-19.

What the research says

According to a study conducted at the University of Lethbridge in Alberta, Canada, those with raised CBD levels could reduce the adverse effect of coronavirus on the human body by examining hundreds of cannabis strains. Cannabis Sativa strains are high in CBD, and scientists could develop this core cannabis component to develop preventative treatments such as mouthwash products for both clinical and home use.

The research was carried out by Drs. Olga and Igor Kovalchuk, professors at the University of Lethbridge’s Department of Biological Sciences, along with researchers from Pathway RX, under a research license from Health Canada at the University of Lethbridge, which continues to actively pursue partnerships to conduct clinical trials.

Results from the study show that that hemp extracts high in CBD could potentially act as a barrier against the protein that provides a gateway in certain tissues for COVID-19 to enter host cells by balancing levels of angiotensin-converting enzyme II (ACE2). The virus can enter the host cells via ACE2, and inflecting those levels in the lung, kidney, gastrointestinal tract, nasal mucosa, and testes would reduce the host's susceptibility to COVID-19 significantly.

The coronavirus pandemic took a significant toll on New York, affecting the state and its residents physically, emotionally and financially. Through adherence to public health protocols, we have gone from being the epicenter of the outbreak to having some of the nation’s lowest infection and fatality rates.

Hopefully we will continue this trajectory. On the financial side, however, we have not even begun to assess the full extent of the damage. The state faces a staggering $14.5 billion budget shortfall this year alone and a projected $62 billion decline through FY 2024 due to COVID-19. Even if Congress and the White House pass a new stimulus package, whatever New York receives will not come close to filling its need

Hawaii will adopt a federal industrial hemp production program at the end of this month, signaling the end of the state’s two-year-long Industrial Hemp Pilot Program.

However, the changing programs have hemp farmers worried, with concerns that growing hemp will no longer be economically viable under the federal program.

Thanks to a bill passed by the state Legislature during the last session and signed into law by Gov. David Ige, the state legalized the growth of hemp throughout the state via the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s hemp production program. But while this bill ostensibly removed roadblocks for farmers seeking a license to grow hemp, farmers under the pilot program believe the USDA program is significantly more restrictive.

“I know some farmers are just waiting to see what happens before they apply at all,” said Gail Baber, a Big Island hemp grower who was one of the first in the state to be licensed through the pilot program.

While Shelley Choy, coordinator of the pilot program, said the federal program has much less stringent requirements for applications — being a program for commercial growers, rather than a research program as the pilot program is — Baber said the one-size-fits-all nature of the federal program has led to some serious concerns with how the program will be enforced.

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a new bill last week that will help protect banks that do business with licensed cannabis companies.

Under Bill AB 1525, banks, credit unions, savings associations and other financial institutions wouldn’t be in violation of California state laws by providing their services to licensed cannabis businesses – similar to the SAFE Banking Act, the landmark cannabis banking bill that the House of Representatives passed last year.

The SAFE Banking Act was included in the latest Democrat-proposed coronavirus stimulus bill worth $2.2 trillion. 

Despite the local status of marijuana in states that have opted to legalize weed, the plant remains classified as a Schedule I drug on the federal level, resulting in a complex legal landscape for banks that wish to work with cannabis businesses.

These lenders could face money laundering charges, while companies that legally work in the cannabis industry are forced to operate as cash-only businesses, which in turn creates the perfect environment for fraud, theft and tax evasion.