WeedLife News Network

According to a news report from the Associated Press, Nebraska voters will likely get to vote this November on initiatives to legalize medical marijuana and casino gambling after advocates for both announced Thursday that they have enough signatures to put them on the November ballot.

According to the AP, organizers of the Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana campaign said they’ve gathered 182,000 signatures. To qualify for the ballot, the campaign needed to turn in more than 121,000 valid signatures, representing more than 10% of the voters in the state. Campaign officials also needed to collect signatures from at least 5% of voters in at least 38 Nebraska counties.

“Today represents a huge step forward for thousands of Nebraskans who deserve compassion,” said state Sen. Anna Wishart, of Lincoln, who co-chaired the campaign committee. “We are confident that we’ve met the requirements for ballot qualification, and after seeing the outpouring of support for our petition, we’re even more confident that Nebraska’s voters will approve this initiative in November.”

Meanwhile, the pro-gambling group Keep the Money in Nebraska announced that it will submit 475,000 signatures for its three petitions to allow casino gambling at horse-racing tracks. One petition seeks to amend the state constitution to allow gambling, one would change state law to authorize and regulate the casinos, and the third would direct the tax revenue into a property tax credit fund and toward local governments. The constitutional amendment proposal garnered more than 205,000 signatures, while the two other gambling-related measures each received more than 135,000.

The chief executive officer of independent cannabis retailer Fire and Flower Holdings said this week Canada needs 4,000 pot shops in order to compete with the country’s still-thriving black market. 

In an interview with BNN Bloomberg, Trevor Fencott said the Canadian illicit market for weed is still more efficient than the legal one, which has suffered numerous setbacks since legalization took effect nearly two years ago. The slow rollout of pot shops has been the most commonly-cited culprit behind the less-than-stellar performance of legal marijuana companies. 

“The most efficient market out there is the illicit market. It’s not regulated, but it is efficient. Prohibition or enforcement alone don’t work. You need to compete with the illicit market head-on economically,” Fencott explained. 

In order to achieve this, Fencott suggests Canada should follow Colorado’s model – where one dispensary is opened for every 10,000 residents. This means Canada would need to open as many as 4,000 dispensaries, while less than 1,000 have been opened to date. 

“The way we see this going is that cannabis is ultimately going to be a convenience commodity. You have to give people multiple access points to the product that they want to buy, especially if you want to compete with the illicit market,” he said. 

The potential of medical marijuana is widely known, not only in Canada and the U.S., but also globally. Many patients find that medical cannabis has helped them with certain health issues where conventional medicine has failed, including chronic pain, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Crohn's disease, and anxiety.

Meanwhile, recreational cannabis is gaining popularity because of the variety it offers in satisfying consumers looking for an intoxicating or relaxing experience.

To take advantage of this popular and evolving market, two big names in cannabis space, Aurora Cannabis (NYSE:ACB) and Canopy Growth (NYSE:CGC), are in a tight race. But before I tell you the progress each has made, let's shed light on the growth of the medical and recreational cannabis markets in Canada and the U.S.

How have medical and recreational cannabis progressed?

Worldwide legal cannabis sales have been impressive. In 2017, the number stood at $9.5 billion; that increased to $12.2 billion in 2018, per data from BDS Analytics. In 2019, medical marijuana made up 71% of total legal pot sales.

CBD anti-inflammatory properties and mental health treatment capabilities demand further investigation for coronavirus patients, according to a new study.

As researchers and doctors rush to understand the novel coronavirus, sometimes new evidence contradicts old claims. Cannabis represents a main topic where scientists have spun 180 degrees in discussing how the plant interacts with COVID-19. Public health officials announced back in March that marijuana smokers and vapers were more at risk to contract and spread the coronavirus.

Lung health experts still don’t recommend inhaling any combustible material like tobacco or marijuana, due to the inflammation caused in your airways. However, cannabis has emerged as an unlikely candidate in preventing and treating COVID-19 symptoms.

Researchers at the University of Nebraska and the Texas Biomedical Research Institute now believe CBD could reduce the lethal lung inflammation caused by COVID-19. In a peer-reviewed article published in this month’s issue of Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, the researchers called for more studies into cannabinoids for their anti-viral and anti-inflammatory capabilities to combat the coronavirus.

“Acute infection is associated with a cytokine superstorm, which contributes to the symptoms of fever, cough, muscle pain,” researchers wrote. In severe cases, lung inflammation could lead to pneumonia, making it difficult to breathe for patients who already have weakened immune systems.

More radical change to drug policy could be coming to Oregon after the November federal election.

The Drug Addiction Treatment and Recovery Act, which would decriminalize drugs in the state, qualified for the ballot after it amassed a total of 116,622 valid signatures of support, per the Oregon Secretary of State.

The Act would downgrade possession of most drugs from a crime to a violation. For example, a person found guilty of being in possession of a Schedule I, II, or III drug, a Class A misdemeanor, can face one year in jail and a US$6,250 fine. Under the act, the same offence would be reclassified as a Class E violation, resulting in a fine of $100 or a completed health assessment.

Possession of a Schedule IV drug, formerly punishable by 30 days in jail and a $1,250 fine, would also convert to a Class E violation, leading to a $100 fine or health assessment.

“Oregonians have always been early adopters of drug policies that shift the emphasis towards health and away from punishment,” managing director of criminal justice law and policy at Drug Policy Action  Theshia Naidoo told Talking Drugs in March.  “The idea behind this groundbreaking effort is simple: people suffering from addiction need help, not criminal punishments. Instead of arresting and jailing people for using drugs, the measure would fund a range of services to help people get their lives back on track.”

In a bid to win over still-skeptical progressives, Joe Biden on Wednesday unveiled a set of policy proposals that moved him more closely aligned with his one-time rival, Bernie Sanders. But on the matter of marijuana, the former vice president and presumptive Democratic nominee remains miles away from legalization.

The proposals were detailed in a lengthy document born out of a Biden-Sanders task force that tackled a number of policy issues—from criminal justice to climate change. According to the New York Times, Biden is “expected to adopt many of the recommendations.” The Times noted that some of the recommendations, such as economics and the environment, “include broader and costlier plans than [Biden] has championed so far in his campaign.” 

But the Biden and Sanders camps remain at loggerheads over a number of areas, including cannabis policy. Sanders has long championed legalizing marijuana on the federal level, where it remains on the list of banned substances. In unveiling his own comprehensive plan on drug policy last fall, Sanders vowed to “legalize marijuana and end the horrifically destructive war on drugs,” which he said “has disproportionately targeted people of color and ruined the lives of millions of Americans.” Biden has steadfastly resisted legalization, a position he reiterated in a clumsy interview last month on “The Breakfast Club.” 

Decriminalization Over Legalization

The policy paper released Wednesday by the Biden campaign falls well short of legalization, too, asserting instead that “Democrats will decriminalize marijuana use and reschedule it through executive action on the federal level,” while also saying they support the “legalization of medical marijuana.” On the matter of recreational legalization, however, the paper says only that “states should be able to make their own decisions,” which is more or less how marijuana policy has operated in the U.S. since 2012, when Colorado and Washington voters passed measures ending the prohibition in their states.

Marijuana is listed as a schedule I drug under the federal Controlled Substances Act, a category that also includes heroin. As defined by the law, schedule I drugs have “ a high potential for abuse,” and “no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the U.S.” 

“Wellness” is the latest buzzword in town when it comes to the cannabis-munchie movement. The cannabis community wants America to know, or at least it wants it to think, that instead of scarfing down fast food and Little Debbies whenever it comes time to tame the ravenous appetite that often comes with getting high, they are grabbing fruits and vegetables instead. It’s all part of the new-and-improved stoner image 2.0. But are marijuana users really opting for healthier food choices when those high hunger pangs set in? Maybe, but then again, maybe not.

If we look at some of the latest research on the matter, it is easy to see that all of this talk about wellness, healthier munchies and the brand-spanking new pulse of the lifted lifestyle might not be real.

A 2015 study published in the journal Social Science Research Network finds that junk food sales have increased by around two per cent in states where marijuana is legal. Of course, this is not a huge uptick or anything, especially when compared to the 1.3 per cent increase in areas of prohibition. But it does show that high fat, sugary foods still have a shot at becoming a stoner staple in areas of the United States where marijuana consumption is now part of normal society.

The munchies is one of the most popular side effects of cannabis. Dietary experts, like Debbie Petitpain, a registered dietitian nutritionist and spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, said the reason cannabis consumers often gravitate toward junk food is because weed “hijacks the parts of your brain that make you seek pleasure.” In turn, these people are more likely to grab salty and sweet snacks to satisfy high hunger.

It also doesn’t help matters that marijuana causes a heightened sense of smell and taste. This only compounds the plate-punishing destruction, encouraging high timers to eat more, Petitpain said in an interview with the Boston Herald.

Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman is urging state lawmakers to legalize the adult use of cannabis as a way to reduce the impact of a looming budget deficit. The state faces a budget shortfall of $3.2 billion, largely as a result of the continuing COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the economy.

Fetterman took to Twitter last week, calling for the legalization of marijuana as a path to new tax revenue for the state and reform of the state’s penal system as a way to realize budget cost savings.

“I don’t know who needs to hear this jk I know who—but earnestly reforming our state prison system + legalization of marijuana could generate half of this COVID-19 deficit,” Fetterman tweeted on July 2. “It would, however, could have other unintended consequences like justice and personal freedom.”

“If only there was a widely-consumed unregulated cash crop, wholly confined to the black market, that could generate billions of dollars + 1000’s of jobs + help PA farmers,” he wrote in another tweet the same day.

Lt. Governor Says A Majority Of Pennsylvanians Support Legalization

The Democratic lieutenant governor continued his call for the legalization of recreational cannabis on Tuesday with Pittsburgh local media.

Telehealth services that were made available to Florida’s medical marijuana patients due to the coronavirus pandemic may become a permanent option. 

That’s according to the web publication Florida Politics, which reported this week that the temporary provision first established at the outset of the COVID-19 outbreak—and then extended in May—might become a fixture in the state’s medical cannabis program.

The state’s Department of Health unveiled emergency rules back in March that allowed licensed physicians in Florida to see their patients and issue prescriptions remotely. The state’s Republican Governor Ron DeSantis extended telehealth services for medical marijuana patients another 60 days in May. Now, with the provision set to expire this week—and the coronavirus experiencing a resurgence in states such as Florida—some advocates think it needs to be extended indefinitely.

“It’s excellent for the patients, convenience-wise, safety-wise and in a lot of other ways,” Barry Gordon,  a former physician in Ohio who now owns a cannabis clinic in Venice, Florida, told Florida Politics. “The majority of the patients can find that they can integrate it into their lifestyle in an appropriate way and don’t need a lot of further medical advice.”

Gordon continued: “Those types of things are easily done in a [telehealth] consultation. I like to call it being a 2020 doctor and not adopting a 1980 philosophy. We don’t know how long this COVID-19 crisis is going to last…. . It just makes sense. It’s a different society now.”

Sales of adult-use cannabis in Illinois hit a new record high last month, as recreational marijuana dispensaries sold more than $47.6 million worth of legal products — a 7.5% uptick versus the previous month.

According to Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR), which tracks sales at licensed adult-use shops, nearly $240 million worth of recreational cannabis has been sold in Illinois through the first half of the year.

Meanwhile, sales of medical cannabis from 55 licensed medical marijuana dispensaries in Illinois totaled $29.6 million in June, down slightly from the previous month. Concentrates and infused products made up roughly $15.9 million worth of sales, while dry flower accounted for about $13.7 million.

Medical marijuana sales in Illinois have topped $170 million on the year, according to the state, bringing total statewide cannabis sales (recreational and medical) to about $410 million through the first six months of 2020.

The record-breaking recreational sales in June comes as cannabis firms have wrestled with difficult operating conditions throughout much of the year. When adult-use dispensaries first opened in January, they struggled to maintain adequate inventory levels as initial demand outstripped supply.

In light of the impending November 2020 ballot question, in which New Jersey residents will be asked to vote on the legalization of adult-use cannabis, it is imperative now more than ever that legalization is enacted through the meticulous lens of social equity.

Meticulous in the sense that social equity programs must be more than an afterthought, more than an addendum to a bill and more than simple promises to act.

Social equity provisions must be statutorily enacted to ensure a stable foundation that will hold strong as New Jersey’s nascent cannabis industry continues to evolve.

New Jersey is no stranger to the criminalization of cannabis as it consistently ranks in the top three states in the country for the highest number of cannabis arrests and ranks 25th in the country for highest racial disparity in cannabis arrests.

Despite its incarceration history and despite spending more than $143 million of taxpayer’s money each year on cannabis arrests, New Jersey has yet to implement any social equity initiatives in the state’s eight-year history of having a medical cannabis program.

Despite COVID-19 and the illnesses associated with vaping, industry experts report that sales are doing well and are primed to do better as the year progresses.

The vaping market was on the fast track until a strange pulmonary disease appeared in 2019 and threw everyone for a loop. Then came the new year, along with COVID-19, a respiratory illness that has most government officials asking people to wear masks and maintain social distance in order to prevent the spread. With this in mind, the use of vapes and cigarettes should be fizzling out, but experts don’t think that’s the case.

While most people know that smoking harms the lungs, a lot of people are still smoking marijuana as a way to cope with the stress of the virus and long hours of boredom. Smoking marijuana may cause lung irritation and chronic bronchitis but, unlike smoking cigarettes, it’s not associated with significant abnormalities in lung functioning. While there are obvious risks, people who smoke cigarettes are the ones who are dealing more harm to their lungs, especially since this act is likely repeated several times a day.

Vaping is generally associated with less lung damage. Still, experts warn about the unknown chemicals present in the cartridges. “If you’re using a vape pen, you’re taking some chances that there’s stuff other than pure cannabis oil in that cartridge,” internal medicine specialist Erick Kaufman tells The Cut. “We should all be really protective of our respiratory tracts right now, so it’s probably not a good time to be doing any inhaling of cannabis if you can help it.”

Photo by Lepro/Getty Images

Growth opportunities remain in cannabis, but it requires creativity, enterprise and knowledge, according to top investors.

Take this for an investing conundrum: Where do you put your money in an industry with enormous upside but where many companies don’t yet make profits? An industry where some states consider it “essential business” but the country considers its product illegal? Or an industry where the illicit market is potentially three times bigger than legal sales?

Welcome to cannabis investing, where massive potential and heartbreak live side by side. But opportunity does exist for savvy players, even amid a global pandemic that threatens practically every American business sector.

A vast number of cannabis enthusiasts made up of all ages have discovered the perks of exercising high—often with pleasant results. 

While decades of propaganda and a handful of less-than-conclusive studies promote the amotivational syndrome theory surrounding cannabis, a growing body of empirical evidence defies the concept that cannabis slows down the physical human body and hinders psychomotor ability.

A new study—looking at Americans ages 60 and older—found that cannabis consumers are more adept at regular exercise than non-consumers. 

The findings were published in the July 2020 issue of American Journal of Health Behavior and are published online via Ingenta. The data suggests that Americans pot smokers ages 60 and older exercise frequently and have a lower body mass index than older Americans who do not consume. The team arrived at the conclusion that cannabis did not negatively impact exercise routines among Americans who fall within that age group. 

The study was conducted by a team from the Department of Neuroscience and Psychology at University of Colorado, Boulder. “Although studies have suggested that cannabis may impair psychomotor performance and lung function, cannabis may actually enhance performance in some athletic domains,” researchers wrote. “It is important to note that the few empirical studies directly testing this association lack external validity, as they have utilized forms of cannabis that are not widely available in modern medical and recreational cannabis dispensaries.” 

Easy CBD edible recipes can be a godsend when you are looking for ways to get creative in the kitchen. Not only is making your own edibles a nice way to save money, but you can also turn this hobby into a source of income. On top of that, making your own edibles is the best way to ensure that they are made using quality and healthy ingredients, and cooking gives you complete control over the CBD concentration in each product.

You don’t need great cooking skills to make simple and delicious edibles. Here are some of the easiest CBD edibles to make yourself.

CBD Gummies

Starting with what is easily one of the most popular edibles in the world. Both cannabis and CBD gummies are easy to make. A quick online search will yield many different recipes, but most of them rely on two key ingredients: CBD itself, and gelatin. Other ingredients like honey, fruit juice, and colorants can be used to add flavor and beauty to the gummies. And different silicone molds can be used for aesthetic purposes.

But at its core, making CBD gummies consists of heating up the gelatin and then mixing it with CBD. And while a silicone mold can make it easier to pour and later extract your gummies, you can get away with using an ice tray in a pinch. Gummies can be made using CBD oil, tinctures, isolates, and even by adding ground up hemp to the gelatin. Just make sure to decarboxylate it first.

Look around for CBD gummy recipes and find one that looks delicious to you. Most of them are shockingly simple.

Part of building a returning customer base is investing in a company brand; however, dispensaries in legal markets across are regulated differently state-by-state, limiting the options for traditional marketing, such as radio or TV ads, billboards, distribution of brochures in public spaces, and more.

In many states, retailers are permitted to sell merchandise donning cannabis company logos and other branding—such as clothing, mugs, rolling papers, vaporizers and other products. Retailers are using those opportunities to their advantage to increase awareness beyond their dispensary doors.   

Choosing to smoke cannabis can be therapeutic, capable of relieving any number of conditions from insomnia to the side effects of chemotherapy. But it’s also a superb vehicle for attaining personal balance and increasing our overall sense of well-being.

Here are 10 activities that will maximize the cannabis experience.

Take a bath

If you’re dead tired or your muscles are aching, a hot bath is always inviting. Once you’ve set the scene with scented candles and some relaxing tunes, why not light a joint. Obviously, the hand that’s holding the joint dry needs to remain dry, which will require a bit of coordination when climbing into the water. But once you’ve settled in, you’ll achieve physical and psychological serenity.

Work out with weed

The gym can be a tiresome experience: the same old machines, the same old routine. What’s the solution? Freshen your exercise by catching a buzz before you sweat. Cannabis gives your metabolism a boost. For runners, it alleviates the tedium of putting one foot in front of the other. By the way, the so-called “runner’s high” is very much akin to the cannabis experience, because exercise activates the endocannabinoid system in the same way toking up does.

For those who opt for exercise machines, which are designed to isolate individual muscle groups, cannabis will allow you to focus more keenly on the contraction of those muscles. Many yoga enthusiasts swear by cannabis because it marginalizes linear thought and focuses awareness on breathing and proper alignment.

Professor Rudolf Brenneisen of the Swiss Society of Cannabis in Medicine tells us about medical cannabis in Switzerland.

The Swiss Society of Cannabis in Medicine (SSCM), the Swiss ambassador organisation of the International Association for Cannabinoid Medicines, aims to see cannabis recognised and regulated as a legitimate form of medicine in Switzerland. MCN speaks with Professor Rudolf Brenneisen, Editor-in-Chief of the SSCM’s peer-reviewed trade journal Medical Cannabis and Cannabinoids, about medical cannabis and cannabinoids in Switzerland.

What are the key benefits of cannabis in medical treatment?

Cannabis can have a plethora of effects – although this does not mean it is a panacea. It can have therapeutic benefits across a broad spectrum of indications, including chronic and neuropathic pain; nausea, vomiting and appetite loss; neurological conditions; chronic inflammation; and more. Cannabis and cannabinoids – primarily THC and CBD – have a broad therapeutic window: this means that they only carry a very marginal risk of physical or organ toxicity, and the risk of potential psychological side effects is low to medium and dependent on the dose. The typical psychotropic side effects of THC may be ameliorated by combining it with a dose of CBD.

Are there challenges or side effects specific to cannabis as a medicinal product?

One really challenging aspect of cannabis is evaluating all the different application forms in order to determine which is optimal for medicinal use. The selection of the medication type must ideally be based on patient and indication, though as some producers claim to offer between 1,000 and 2,000 individual types and chemovarieties, it is still essentially impossible to deliver cannabis-based treatment which is uniquely ‘individualised’ for the patient.

Cannabis and its extracts can be available in the form of isolated single substances, such as THC or CBD; standardised extracts like Sativex®; and full spectrum preparations, such as cannabis flowers. The predominant application forms are:

A Detailed Look at Cannabis Sales in Illinois, Maryland and Massachussetts

We are pleased to share with our readers overviews on three Eastern cannabis markets compiled by BDSA for the month of April. BDSA offers a full understanding of the evolving cannabis market though several offerings, including its GreenEdge Retail Sales Tracking, Consumer Insights, Industry Intelligence and CBD Market Monitor divisions.

As Arkansas’ medical marijuana industry blossoms, with the state issuing more licenses for cultivation centers and dispensaries to serve more than 60,000 authorized Arkansas patients, cultivators are pushing back against a narrative that short wholesale supplies have kept prices too high for some patients to buy.

“The argument for issuing additional grow licenses was based on the idea that cultivators charge too much for cannabis,” one grow operation executive told Arkansas Business. “They said basically that there’s no supply and patients can’t get their medicine. That’s simply not true. We welcome competition and the issuing of new licenses, but not under a false premise.”