As automation continues to change the way we get our cannabis, the future of this booming industry is growing even more exciting.
Due to COVID-19, social distancing is crucial. That’s why so many people prefer contactless options, particularly for items like groceries or take out. Why can’t we do the same with cannabis? Exciting new developments in the world of automation are making contactless cannabis a reality.
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Consuming cannabis can provide numerous wellness benefits to consumers and patients as a growing body of peer-reviewed research demonstrates.
Countless people around the world use cannabis for medical or recreational purposes, as people have done for many centuries.
Cannabis has been found by at least one peer-reviewed study to be 114 times safer than alcohol, and many people prefer to make the safer choice and consume cannabis rather than alcohol.
In some instances a consumer or patient may need to refrain from consuming cannabis, either for tolerance-break purposes, or for an upcoming drug test.
It could also just be due to personal preference.
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By the end of 2020, the legal cannabis industry is expected to surpass US$15 billion. But the money that weed generates on the illicit market far exceeds that amount.
Tracking exact figures is tricky because anonymous dealers and criminal networks aren’t exactly sharing sales data with the media. But estimates approximate the illicit market is more than four times the size of its legal market.
More specifically, New Frontier Data values the U.S. illicit© 420 Intel
South Dakota has submitted its industrial hemp plan to the U.S. Department of Agriculture for approval.
The plan lays out how the state will regulate industrial hemp, and South Dakota farmers will be able to begin growing industrial hemp once the USDA gives final approval.
The South Dakota Department of Agriculture will continue to develop its program while it waits for that approval, and processors and growers will be able to find more information about applying for a hemp license in the near future, according to Derek Schiefelbein, industrial hemp program manager at the SDDA.
"I am looking forward to working with industrial hemp producers and processors in South Dakota," Sheifelbein said.
The newly formed South Dakota Industrial Hemp Association applauded the SDDA's plan submission. Producers won't be able to grow hemp until the 2021 season, but the submission is an "important step," the association said in a statement.
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Adults residing in states where retail marijuana sales are legally regulated tend to hold a positive impression of the marketplace, according to data published in the journal Addictive Behaviors.
Investigators affiliated with the University of Waterloo, School of Public Health in Canada surveyed 5,530 respondents residing in Alaska, California, Colorado, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington.
Authors reported: “The current findings suggest generally positive perceptions of the legal cannabis market. Most respondents, including frequent cannabis consumers, perceived legal cannabis to be of equal or greater quality and convenience, and as safer to buy and use than cannabis from illegal sources.”
Commenting on the study’s findings, NORML’s Deputy Director Paul Armentano said: “This data once again affirms that most voters do not experience ‘buyer’s remorse’ following marijuana legalization. In the minds of most Americans, these laws are operating as voters intended and in a manner that is consistent with their expectations.”
Armentano further acknowledged that no state that has legalized the use of cannabis for either medical or adult-use purposes has ever repealed their law.
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June marks the first month in Colorado history that recreational marijuana shops sold more than $150 million worth of products as cannabis consumption during the COVID-19 pandemic continues to set industry records.
Recreational marijuana consumers spent $158,102,628 at Colorado shops in June, according to data from the Department of Revenue’s Marijuana Enforcement Division. It’s a 6% increase of the previous single-month recreational sales record of $149,186,615 that was set in May, state data shows.
Last June, rec shops sold roughly $122.4 million in products. Before this year, monthly recreational sales had only eclipsed $140 million one time, in August 2019, state data shows. That month, dispensaries combined to sell $173,219,859 worth of products.
Medical marijuana sales took a step back in June. After setting a new record with $42,989,322 in sales in May, medical dispensaries sold $40,770,582 worth of products in the month, according to the MED’s monthly sales report.
Still, the industry comfortably set a new record for total business volume.
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Legal markets are your above-board markets. Products or services that are registered, that are taxed, that are counted in official inventories, and reported on to local and federal governments. If you want to buy a shirt and you go to Walmart, congratulations, you’ve helped support the legal clothing market. You’ve also helped support sweat shops and slave labor, but that’s beside the point.
The market itself, however unsavory, is legal. I point out the unsavoriness for a reason though. In all the talk about the negative aspects of black markets, it should always be remembered that legal markets can be just as dirty, dangerous, and detrimental to those involved.
Black markets (and I’ll include gray markets here) encompass the large blurry underbody. It’s like the big hulking iceberg underneath the tiny Titanic-tearing tip. It’s every sale that no government knows about. Every untaxed product and service. Every unregistered item that will never be counted in official inventories or reported to government bodies.
So if you’re buying knock off sunglasses from a guy on a street corner, or getting an 1/8 of really great skunk from your friendly neighborhood pot dealer, or giving in to the super cute kids on the street selling lemonade from a stand, you, my friend, have participated in a black market purchase. To be fair to those cute little kids, there aren’t many government bodies that are going to bust up their lemonade selling operation, but if the same kids continue that same operation into adulthood, they could be arrested for tax evasion.
The first things to know about the cannabis market is that it’s old, it’s huge, and it’s pretty stable. For as long as humanity has understood what the cannabis plant is, it’s been using it in different formulations ranging from medical applications to relaxing and feeling good.
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After nearly a year of next-to-no deal-making, cannabis companies are gearing up for mergers and acquisitions as realistic stock valuations and the prospect of U.S. legalization attract buyers to a sector that has been decimated by oversupply and other issues, executives and investors say.
Profitable cannabis companies want to buy their way into niche segments and expand their brands, betting that the November U.S. presidential election will lead to weed becoming legal across the United States. Distribution deals could also help companies reach consumers who have shown an increased appetite for pot products since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.
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A U.S. senator has asked the Department of Agriculture to delay issuing final hemp rules under the 2018 Farm Bill until 2022, to delay costs associated with the new U.S. Domestic Hemp Production Program.
New York Sen. Charles Schumer called for the delay in a letter to the USDA last week. If implementation of the new rules is postponed, hemp growers and producers could continue to operate under the 2014 Farm Bill‘s pilot program. That would let them avoid what USDA estimates as $17,000 (€14,500) in compliance costs associated with the new rules.
While Schumer is advocating for CBD interests in his home state, a federal delay could also give some financial relief to stakeholders in other states that currently operate under the 2014 Farm Bill.
“These costs do not just impact businesses across the United States but also state budgets that must alter their pilot programs to meet the demands of the Interim Final Rules,” Schumer wrote. “With bandwidth completely consumed by COVID concerns, the state regulatory agencies cannot focus on implementation of the Interim Final Rules. At this point, only 19 states have approved plans in place and enforcement efforts will deal a significant economic blow to the industry.”
Two industry organizations, the National Industrial Hemp Council and the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture also have written to Congress asking for a delay in implementing the new hemp rules.
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One clear outcome of the coronavirus pandemic is explosive growth in cannabis sales in every major market around the country. Even in places like Illinois, which just started legal adult-use sales about two months before the coronavirus hit the United States, sales continue to make records.
If 2020 is one of the worst years in recent history, people apparently are turning to cannabis for a degree of comfort and solace - even NBA players.
The proof is in the sales figures. Florida and Arizona have established new records in medical marijuana sales. Colorado hit $192 million in recreational and medical marijuana sales in May, a record for the state that was the first to allow adult-use sales. Oregon sales reached $100 million for the first time since 2015.
Even the New York Times has taken note, writing about the increase in edibles sales as the coronavirus has spread across the country. The Times chalked it up to unease across the nation, writing: “Anxious times (say, a global pandemic) call for palliatives, like meditation, exercise or, in some cases, weed.”
While tied to the pandemic, experts expected an increase in 2020 cannabis sales before social distancing and mask-wearing became commonplace. But certainly, the pandemic drove sales higher, faster.
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When hormone issues are caused by environmental factors like toxins, growth hormones or waste byproducts, it affects not only the body’s ability to reproduce, but the aging process as well.
Sometimes, emotions are like fireworks, suddenly exploding into colorful arrays, spilling down into every facet of life. Talk to any woman who has fluctuating hormone levels and she’ll tell you that feeling unbalanced or “out-of-whack” is something that she wishes never occurred.
Scientists have been looking into the link between hormone imbalance, early menstruation, and quality-of-life for decades. While not always caused by environmental factors, (some are genetic or induced by thyroid problems or stress,) hormone imbalances can affect mood, weight gain, hair loss and pain levels. While both men and women are susceptible to hormone fluctuations, Between the Bridges Healing Center explains that, “Women experience hormonal imbalances at key transitions in their lives, for example, puberty, childbirth, perimenopause and menopause. “
Amanda Holmberg-Sasek, a therapist at Radiant Living Therapy out of Plymouth, Minnesota, says she often sees clients who are experiencing the effects of hormone imbalance and its direct connection to a healthy sex life. “Working with the psychological effects of hormone imbalance can really help make big changes In and out of the bedroom,” she explained. Often a cause of dysfunction in relationships, she believes having a conversation is the first step to feeling and communicating more effectively with your partner.
When hormone issues are caused by environmental factors such as toxins, growth hormones or waste byproducts, it affects not only the body’s ability to reproduce, but the aging process as well. According to the Dr. Shel wellness center in Sugarland, Texas, an imbalance can overwhelm the liver, which helps “to filter out excessive hormones.” When the liver can’t keep up with the disruptors in the food we’re eating, the air we’re breathing and the water we’re drinking, we experience symptoms, like, “weight gain, brain fog, sleepless nights, headaches” and more.
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Some states have aligned themselves with the FDA’s position. Others have taken a more permissive approach. Many states have provided little to no guidance on the subject of Hemp CBD.
The 2018 Farm Bill removed hemp from the Controlled Substances Act did not affect or modify the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (“FDCA”) or the Food and Drug Administration’s (“FDA”) ability to promulgate regulations and guidelines that relate to hemp under. The FDA regulates a wide variety of medical and consumer products sold in the United States including food, drugs, dietary supplements, medical devices, cosmetics, and tobacco products.
The FDA has approved of the use of CBD in the prescription drug Epidiolex. As a result, the FDA has indicated in press releases, enforcement letters, and its website that Hemp CBD cannot be used in foods, beverages, or dietary supplements. This is because under the FDCA, any article that is investigated as a new drug cannot be used in food, beverages, or dietary supplements, unless the article was widely marketed in those products prior to the drug investigation.
In addition, the FDA has taken a hard line against Hemp CBD in unapproved drugs. The FDA determines whether something is a drug based on its intended use, and determines a product’s intended use, in turn, based on how it is marketed. If a manufacturer or distributor makes any type of health claim (“CBD cures cancer” or “CBD may treat inflammation”) or human structure claim (“CBD may increase levels of calcium in bones”) about a product that the FDA has not investigated and approved as a drug, the FDA will consider it a drug. Foods, ingredients in foods, drugs, and dietary supplements are all subject to premarket FDA approval.
The FDA also regulates tobacco and nicotine tightly but does not have clear regulatory authority of smokable hemp products, such as dried flower, e-liquid and vape pens. That’s because generally, these products don’t contain any tobacco or nicotine. To clarify, the FDA likely could have regulatory authority over these products, but it hasn’t established a clear jurisdictional hook.
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When talking about whether CBD oil can alleviate the symptoms of Crohn’s disease, there are two important scientific studies to consider.
This recent research allows us to make more accurate conclusions about the type of CBD that should be used for this particular condition.
The first study is from 2017, and 19 patients with Crohn’s disease participated in it.
They were given 10 mg of pure CBD (also known as CBD isolate), twice a day for 8 weeks.
Researchers found that even though CBD treatment was well tolerated, this type of therapy didn’t result in any beneficial effects.
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The cannabis industry can be a complex marketplace for business owners.
With so many regulations and concerns about compliance, managing and marketing one’s business can seem like an overwhelming task.
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Arizona voters will have a chance this year to make their state the latest to end pot prohibition.
A petition spearheaded by a pro-legalization group had its signatures officially certified by Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs on Monday, clearing the way for the proposal to qualify for the state’s ballot this November.
Hobbs, a Democrat, said on Twitter that the “the petition exceeded the minimum requirement with approximately 255,080 valid signatures,” and that the measure will appear on the ballot as Prop. 207.
The petition was circulated by Smart and Safe Arizona, a group that has centered its pitch for legalization around economic opportunity for the state, saying that a marijuana industry would create jobs and opportunities, with revenue providing “additional resources for police training, enforcement and task forces,” as well as more funding for the state’s community colleges. The group said it had submitted more than 420,000 signatures. Smart and Safe Arizona asserts that the new law would generate $3 billion in new revenue in the first decade alone.
If passed, Prop. 207 would legalize “the sale, possession and consumption of one ounce of marijuana” for adults aged 21 and older. The measure would also include certain safeguards, such as the banning of “smoking marijuana in public places like restaurants and open spaces like sidewalks and parks,” as well as heightened penalties for “for driving under the influence of marijuana and gives police departments funding for enforcement, training, equipment and task forces.” It would also ban “the sale of gummy bears, gummy worms and other products that resemble kids’ candy,” and would limit “the amount of THC (the chemical responsible for the “high” in marijuana) to 10 milligrams per serving of edible product.”
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The Polish hemp variety Białobrzeskie has the greatest economic potential among 11 hemp cultivars recently studied by a research team at the University of Kentucky (UK) in the USA. Białobrzeskie had the highest grain yield, and estimated potential returns from the sale of seed and biofuel material of $1,564 (€1,328) per hectare ($632/€536 per acre), the research found.
The study evaluated six fiber-only hemp varieties and five varieties that produce both fiber and significant grain, comparing their economic potential as commodity crops. Researchers also looked at how the hemp biofuel raw material from the plants performed under laboratory pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis designed to enhance biofuel yields.
The first Polish variety of fibrous monoecious hemp, Białobrzeskie was originally developed in the 1960s for textile production by Poland’s Institute of Natural Fibres and Medicinal Plants (IWNiRZ). But the variety also provides a high grain yield. In addition, in more recent years, flowers from Białobrzeskie have been used to produce CBD. Importantly, the strain is stable at less than 0.2% THC.
“We’ve known for a long time that Białobrzeskie is highly suited for dual cropping,” said Witold Czeszak, who heads IWNiRZ’s Technology Transfer Department, and is co-founder and manager of the Polish Hemp Program at the Poznan, Poland-based Institute. “This research is more confirmation of the economic superiority of this well-proven cultivar.”
NWG 331 from New West Genetics, Colorado USA, had the second highest estimated return of $1,482 (€1,259) per hectare, and gave the highest biomass yield and second highest grain yield of all cultivars in the trials.
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For the same reason that cancer patients rely on weed to fight the nasty effects of chemotherapy, a person with a hangover can use it to keep from loitering on the bathroom floor.
The hangover that comes after a night of heavy drinking is a cruel reminder that we are delicate beasts that, no matter how much Bukowski we wear on our sleeves during the celebration, we can’t hold our liquor worth a damn. But no matter how many times we’ve been slumped over the toilet, dry-heaving in ways that make us look like an old cobra that was sold to a circus sideshow for a dime bag, we continue to engage in this lunatic behavior as though we are incapable of learning a lesson.
It’s like no sooner than the Jack Daniels induced fog in the brain starts to subside from one too many beers, shots and “Hell Yeahs!,” another weekend sneaks up and, once again, threatens to turn us into a wad of the feel bads. Indeed, for the party people of the planet, the hangover is the bane of their existence, a painful roadblock that stands in the way of livin’ la vida loca with the kind of enthusiasm that would have even Jim Morrison saying, “Whoa! You’d better slow it down there, pal.”
What’s worse is there is no known cure for a hangover, which means too much booze tonight and you’re inevitably going to be paying for it tomorrow.
The good news is there is evidence that marijuana can help squash those pesky hangovers and get the sipping socialite back on the barstool in no time. But how? Well, federal studies have shown that cannabis can help fight nausea and vomiting. So, for the same reason that cancer patients often rely on the herb to fight the nasty effects of chemotherapy, a person with a hangover can use it to keep from loitering on the bathroom floor.
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Some California communities are upset about the statewide rule that allows home delivery, and are taking the state to court to see if they can ban home delivery in their areas.
So far, however, the judge has sided temporarily with the state when it comes to whether or not these cities have a leg to stand on in their case. Although the cities have banned recreational sales, they don’t have any specific ordinances in place that would ban delivery, which would need to be the case for them to move forward.
“The League of California Cities and police chiefs had complained that unrestricted home deliveries would create a chaotic market of largely hidden pot transactions, while undercutting local control guaranteed in the 2016 law that broadly legalized marijuana sales in the state,” stated an article by the Star Tribune. “The dispute between the state and 25 of its local governments raises a foundational question in the legal marijuana economy: Who is in charge, the state bureaucracy that oversees the marketplace, or local governments where pot is grown and sold?”
So far, a group of municipalities have filed a lawsuit as of April 2019 hoping to get home delivery banned from their areas. This includes Beverly Hills, Riverside and Santa Cruz County, and the cities of Agoura Hills, Angels Camp, Arcadia, Atwater, Ceres, Clovis, Covina, Dixon, Downey, McFarland, Newman, Oakdale, Palmdale, Patterson, Riverbank, San Pablo, Sonora, Tehachapi, Temecula, Tracy, Turlock, and Vacaville.
On the other hand, many have pushed for home delivery in California specifically for the reason that so many areas have banned cannabis sales in localities. Home delivery helps get patients with limited mobility access to medicine they may otherwise not have, and is a huge step towards growing the industry.
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A new documentary slated for release later this month takes an in-depth look at the science behind cannabis as medicine, from the groundbreaking researchers who first discovered the curative power of cannabinoids to the pioneering patients whose lives have been transformed by the plant. The documentary from Mad Machine Films, CBD Nation, will be available in North America via multiple viewing platforms on August 25.
The film by director David Jakubovic features leaders of the medical cannabis movement, including scientists, patients, and activists such as Steve DeAngelo, the co-founder of Harborside Health Center in Oakland, the largest and one of the first medical marijuana dispensaries in the country.
“CBD Nation brings you the real science that decades of U.S. government-sponsored misinformation have hidden from public view,” DeAngelo said in a press release for the documentary. “Watch it, and learn why cannabis may just be the most valuable medicine ever discovered by human beings.”
The film explores the work of Dr. Raphael Mechoulam, an Israeli organic chemist who, with other scientists, was the first to isolate, describe, and synthesize delta-9 THC, and is widely considered the father of cannabinoid research. He notes that cannabis has been known to have medicinal properties for decades, but the development of the plant’s potential was greatly hindered until patients and families led the way.
“We published our findings thirty-seven years ago: cannabidiol (CBD) blocks epileptic attacks in patients. What happened? Nothing for thirty years,” said Mechoulam, who serves as the president of the Multidisciplinary Center for Cannabinoid Research at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. “Nothing happened until desperate parents like those in this film did their own research and found out that cannabidiol can help children with epilepsy. But epilepsy is just one of many conditions that we know cannabis medicine can treat. If the world chooses to not look at all of the science, it is not ignorance—it’s negligence.”
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