WeedLife News Network

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. 

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.”

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.

Legacy cultivar

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.

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.

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. 

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.”

Many businesses and individuals increasingly imagine alternatives to food products. More importantly, these food alternatives require the use of 3D printing. But when it comes to food, it’s easy to imagine a process of 3D printing something that will eventually become solid. But the 3D printing of a drink? This is something we just learned from the former professional boxer, Mike Tyson.

According to the latest information, The Ranch Companies, founded by Mike Tyson, has obtained a global license for the 3D printing of edible cannabis products. Yes, you read right, 3D print!

But how can you print a beverage? This is where Tyson’s new business partner, Smart Cups, a US startup responsible for creating the world’s first printed beverage, comes into play. More than two years ago, this tech company and beverage maker launched its line of 3D printed energy drinks in capsule form.

“Having the ability to produce lines of ingestible cannabis products that will have accurate and consistent doses of cannabis is incredibly important to us,” Tyson said in an interview with Forbes.

The company’s secret weapon is a micro-encapsulation printing technology that is used to infuse its plant-based products into the substrate, which is then inserted into a bioplastic cup. “In this specific application, we use water-soluble cannabinoids and are able to precisely print them on virtually any surface,” explained Chris Kanik, founder and CEO of Smart Cups. “The printed actives and flavors are released when they come in contact with a liquid (i.e., water, soda, or saliva).”

Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) had a busy July in relation to approving applications for medicinal cannabis products.

Australia’s Special Access Scheme (SAS) enables suitably authorised health practitioners to access therapeutic products not included in the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG). The only cannabis product currently included in the ARTG is Sativex (nabiximols), which contains THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) and CBD (cannabidiol).

There are several different pathways to gaining approval for cannabis medications through the SAS – categories A, B and C. Medical cannabis applications are generally via the Category B pathway.

Up to 31 July 2020, the TGA had approved more than 56,000 SAS Category B applications for unapproved medicinal cannabis products. That number is a cumulative figure over a very long period of time – since 1992, so nearly 30 years.

Approval numbers have certainly picked up in the last year or so. Updated figures from the TGA indicate 5,564 approvals were issued last month, so nearly 10% of all approvals ever made under SAS Category B occurred in July this year. July’s figures were well up on June’s (4,630) and more than double July last year (2,207).

The U.K. Anti-Doping organization is changing its rules, reports Canex.

Athletes who fail drug tests for cannabis and cocaine use will face shorter bans as the organization looks to place a greater focus on performance-enhancing drugs. The reform is part of a wider movement focused on athlete welfare, and the acceptance of widening cannabis use.

Additionally, it brings the organization in line with the World Anti-Doping Agency, which announced similar changes this week.

Under the new WADA rules, testing positive for recreational drugs out of competition will result in a one to three-month ban, instead of two years, reports CBC.

“We have developed the new rules to ensure that we are able to meet the latest challenges threatening clean sport and that athletes and the public can have confidence in clean competition,” said UKAD Chief Executive Nicole Sapstead.

Updated regulations around access to medical marijuana caregivers emerged last week as a point of contention among some in the cannabis community, with a patient advocacy group and individual patients disagreeing over the right approach.

During a public hearing on Aug. 3, officials from the Massachusetts Patient Advocacy Alliance opposed the Cannabis Control Commission’s proposal to allow caregivers to support up to 10 medical marijuana patients each -- to the disappointment of some individual patients.

Grant Ellis, a patient who said he relies on caregivers, said the CCC’s plan to up the patient to caregiver ratio to 10:1 and to let caregivers grow up to 500 square feet of marijuana in some situations is a “threat to only one group of people, that being the existing brick and mortar dispensaries who do not want patients to have at-cost access to medical cannabis.”

On Aug. 3, officials from the MPAA said caregivers -- essentially people registered with the CCC to care for and provide cannabis to medical marijuana patients -- should be allowed to support more than one patient, but not 10.

“An arbitrary number of patients per caregiver will likely open the door to a gray market that is indistinguishable from the legally-regulated market you and the staff have worked so hard on developing,” Nichole Snow, the president and executive director of the MPAA told the commissioners.

Canopy Growth Corporation (TSX: WEED) (NYSE: CGC) reported first-quarter fiscal 2021 net revenue increased 22% to $110 million.

For years, cannabis stocks were the greatest thing since sliced bread on Wall Street. The expectation of ongoing state-level legalization in the U.S., coupled with Canada becoming the first industrialized country in the modern era to give marijuana the green light, was forecast to send pot stock valuations into the heavens -- and for a period of time this is precisely what happened.

However, marijuana stock investors have received a dose of reality since the end of March 2019. Supply issues have been persistent throughout Canada, whereas exorbitant tax rates on legal weed remain problematic in the United States. Though the long-term outlook for the legal pot industry is still very compelling, the near-term appears challenging.

This is especially true for the Canadian marijuana industry.

Canadian pot stocks appeared to have a clear path to outperform in Q2

Canada was expected to be a cannabis leader, but it completely blew its chance to be the industry's blueprint due to regulatory-based miscues and overzealous capacity expansion.

Then again, Canada looked to be turning the corner during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. According to Statistics Canada, revenue from licensed cannabis stores has been hitting record highs. Here are the latest monthly cannabis store sales figures (all figures in Canadian dollars (CA$)):