WeedLife News Network

Seniors’ use of cannabis and their support for its legalization is on the upswing.

According to nationwide polling data compiled by the Pew Research Center, nearly two-thirds (63 percent) of “Boomers” (those born in the United States between the years 1946 and 1964) now say that marijuana ought to be legal for adults. That percentage is up significantly from a decade ago, when fewer than one-in-three seniors endorsed its legalization.

Some of this change in attitude is arguably the result of more seniors having firsthand experience with cannabis. According to data published this month in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, “From 2016 to 2018, cannabis use increased for men in all age groups and in most women. … Among those aged 65 to 69 years, cannabis use increased from 4.3 percent to 8.2 percent in men and from 2.1 percent to 3.8 percent in women.”

Why are increasing numbers of seniors turning to — or in some cases, returning to — cannabis? For starters, in many jurisdictions, marijuana’s legal status has changed. Medical cannabis is now legally available in 33 states and throughout Canada — providing many older adults for the first time with safe, above-ground, uninterrupted access to an array of marijuana products. This access is pivotal to older consumers, as the majority of seniors prefer non-herbal, non-smoked cannabis preparations, such as marijuana-infused capsules or edibles — preparations that are rarely available in the illicit marketplace.

Furthermore, seniors are becoming more familiar with and accepting of cannabis’ therapeutic properties. Not only are increasing numbers of seniors becoming aware that cannabis can mitigate many of the health-related symptoms that come with older age, such as chronic pain, but they also understand that it can do so with fewer side-effects than many prescription drugs, like opioids.

France and the EU have been fighting it out in court over import laws concerning a CBD case. If the EU wins it means a forced legalization of CBD across the entire EU… But if France wins, could it be the beginning of the end for CBD?

Before looking into EU CBD laws, we need to shift our attention to the World Health Organization. One of the big cases in the world of legal cannabis has to do with an upcoming vote about cannabis scheduling based on recommendations put out by the WHO (World Health Organization). There are several recommendations that cover a variety of topics on the subject, a few of the main ones being: taking cannabis out of schedule I of the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs (substituting it instead with simply THC), and removing THC altogether from the Convention on Psychotropic Substances.

It also recommends looking at individual cannabinoids, like CBD, separately from the rest of the plant, and not scheduling non-psychoactive cannabinoids the same as those that are psychoactive. Along with this it recommends allowing cannabis extracts with up to .2% THC to not be scheduled by either convention. This last one opens the door for easier trade between countries since it would set a legal international benchmark.

The recommendations were supposed to be voted on already, but due to different issues the vote has been put off a couple times, with a current date in December. During this time, member countries are implored to better understand the recommendations and all their implications before the vote.

Now, if the vote goes sideways in December, and the recommendations are rejected, then the old rules regarding cannabis apply. Cannabis is illegal, a schedule I drug according to the Single Convention, and CBD and all other cannabinoids are scheduled the same.

This would erase a lot of the progress that’s been made in the gray area of the last few years, and essentially illegalize CBD. If that happens, what’s going on between France and the EU won’t matter at all. But if those recommendations go through…well there might be some very interesting CBD case laws coming out of the EU thanks to France and its super stringent policies about cannabis.’

As Maine inches closer to finally fulfilling the voters’ desire to bring legalized recreational marijuana to the state, Tuesday represents a significant milestone.

That is when Maine’s Office of Marijuana Policy intends to begin issuing the first active licenses to recreational cannabis businesses.

The office said last month that active licensure is “the culmination of a three-step application process which also includes conditional licensure and local authorization, respectively.” 

Recreational Marijuana’s Journey In Maine

It is perhaps the last major milestone before October 9, when retail sales of recreational marijuana will be permitted—the climax in a nearly four-year long journey to ending prohibition in Maine that has been beset by repeated delays.

The most recent interruption to the rollout of the new law came earlier this year, which the Office of Marijuana Policy said “had been indefinitely postponed in April in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.”

CDFA’s CalCannabis Cultivation Licensing Division is managing the campaign, which profiles the wide range of licensed California cannabis farmers, from legacy outdoor farms in rural Humboldt to high-tech, vertically-integrated operations in urban locations.

“This is California Cannabis” will feature comprehensive outreach and education efforts, including community events and workshops to highlight the technical assistance and support that is available year-round to licensed growers and new applicants seeking commercial cannabis cultivation licensure. “We’re proud of California’s vibrant cannabis cultivator community,” said Richard Parrott, director of CDFA’s CalCannabis Cultivation Licensing Division. “California is known for growing the best cannabis in the world and our licensed cultivators are leading the way with innovative practices and environmental sustainability.”

California cultivators who are interested in seeking a license can begin the application process online at calcannabis.cdfa.ca.gov or by contacting a licensing specialist by calling toll-free 1-833-CALGROW (1-833-225-4769) or sending an email to calcannabis@cdfa.ca.gov.

CDFA provides year-round support and technical assistance, including updated services for commercial cultivators during the pandemic. For more information about the campaign, please visit growwithCA.com to view the videos, farmer profiles, and other outreach materials.

Pakistan has unveiled plans to allow the industrial production of hemp, spurring hopes farmers and businesses in the conservative Islamic country will be able to tap into the lucrative global cannabis market.

The move comes as Prime Minister Imran Khan's government struggles to boost the country's foreign exchange coffers that have been drained by a struggling economy, fiscal deficits and inflation. 

"This hemp market could provide Pakistan with some $1 billion in the next three years and we are in a process of making a full-fledged plan for this purpose," science and technology minister Fawad Chaudhry told reporters Wednesday.

Hemp is a type of cannabis plant containing cannabidiol (CBD) which advocates say has numerous medicinal and relaxing properties.

It does not contain significant quantities of high-inducing tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).

Regardless of the economic and health crises this year, the marijuana industry continues to be one of the quickest growing industries in United States.

Only a couple months remain until voters in numerous states will see medical and recreational cannabis legalization measures on their ballots. South Dakota will actually have a medical and a recreational legalization measure on its ballot.

Arizona, Montana, New Jersey, and South Dakota have ballot initiatives that could legalize marijuana for adults 21 and older. Mississippi, Nebraska, and South Dakota have ballot initiatives that could establish medical marijuana programs.

These 6 states will be voting on cannabis legalization in November 2020:

The Cannabis for Private Purposes Bill, tabled in parliament on 1 September, provides clarity around the growing and private use of cannabis in South Africa.

While the bill can be seen as the first step in a revised, progressive approach to cannabis in the country, the proposed legislation also throws up a number of red flags, says law firm Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr.

“The focus remains on restricting access to, and the use of, cannabis against the threat of rather severe legal consequences in the form of fines and jail time,” it said.

“What those in the industry were hoping for was a collaborative effort between the various departments such as Health, Agriculture, Finance, and the like.”

Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr said that the drafters of the bill have seemingly adopted a ‘narrow and traditionalist perspective’, which as currently constructed, does not give an inch more than was mandated by the Constitutional Court.

A growing number of Australians support the legalization of cannabis, while almost three in five back the idea of pill testing, according to a new national survey.

The 2019 National Drug Strategy Household Survey also shows Australians are drinking and smoking less, but some illicit drug use is on the rise.

Importantly, this national snapshot, released on Thursday, shows the Australian community is becoming more open to less punitive measures around drug use.

Changes to drug use

The National Drug Strategy Household Survey is conducted every three years. The 2019 results showed an increase in illicit drug use from 2016.

This includes the proportion of Australians who used cannabis (up from 10.4% to 11.6%), cocaine (2.5% to 4.2%), ecstasy (2.2% to 3.0%) and ketamine (0.4% to 0.9%).

The last few years have been a roller coaster ride in terms of cannabis regulation, and there hasn’t been a whole lot of consistency. Now, with the scheduled vote on WHO drug scheduling coming up, the fate of CBD hangs in the balance.

So, who exactly is this WHO which makes designations as to which drugs are narcotics and which are not? The World Health Organization is an agency belonging to the United Nations and is responsible for public health globally.

One of the first things to understand about the global scheduling of drugs is that a lot of current legislation is set according to the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs 1961, a treaty signed by 186 governments as of 2018. It prohibits the production and supply of narcotics, including – because of how its scheduled – cannabis

It should be noted that the Single Convention does not act alone, and member countries are also required to have their own drug policies, so long as they are in line with the Single Convention. As part of this, the World Health Organization, through the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, is an office that can add, transfer, or remove drugs from within a specific scheduling class, of which there are four. Scheduling goes as follows:

In the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances, a separate set of scheduling guidelines for different substances was made.

In the last few years, as different countries have changed their laws, the question of this scheduling has come into play.

Pesticides can be found on pretty much anything that’s grown these days. There’s an ongoing battle brewing regarding the dangers of these sprays to human health, with a growing collection of evidence in the negative category. Where does cannabis fit into all this? And what can you expect to have sprayed on your buds?

As with many topics in life, there is no official consensus on the safety/dangers of pesticides, especially when it comes to cannabis consumption, but the growing bank of literature expressing dangerous outcomes is hard to ignore. Nor is there a consensus on how much should be used, though the idea of needing to establish this is a strong indicator for the understanding of their collective dangers.

There aren’t consistently used ways to test for them, or even consistent regulation on what exactly is being tested for in order to establish the pesticide content. There isn’t a consensus on which pesticides are okay and which are not. One of the only things to be sure of, in fact, is that there’s probably something sprayed on your flowers, it might not be good stuff to have sprayed on your buds, and there could be a lot of it there.

Pesticides in the USA

In the US, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates pesticide use in agriculture with local governments overseeing the process. This accounts for any legally grown form of agriculture. Cannabis presents an issue in that it’s still federally illegal, apart from industrial hemp which technically is not intended for consumption.

This means there are no pesticides officially approved for use on cannabis for human consumption, and no official conversation about it at all. This also means there’s no official information being put out about safe levels of pesticide resins in products (if such a level exists). All states in the US that have legalized, have had to come up with their own regulatory systems, and without all the testing generally available on a federal level.

As of yet, all the legalized states have different policies, which means smoking cannabis, or using cannabis products, in/from these states would dictate different levels of regulatory safety.

As the West Coast matures from the early Green Rush and Midwest markets like Michigan and Illinois hit their stride with recent legalization, all eyes are on the Northeast as the sleeping giant that will radically change the national cannabis landscape for 2021 and beyond. Among the 40 million-plus residing in the tri-state area between New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, the East Coast offers a monumental competitive advantage with substantial opportunities for new players to make their mark as soon as the industry is given the green light to move forward—which is only a matter of time.

 “There is no question that a lot of states that were sitting on the fence on adult-use legalization will now turn to it as they look for tax revenues,” says Joe Bayern, President of CuraLeaf (OTC:CURLF). 

Bayern points to New Frontier Data that estimates that if marijuana were legalized today, roughly 782,000 new jobs would be created, estimated to grow to 1.1 million by 2025. Federal legalization, it is estimated, would generate $131.8 billion in federal tax revenue between 2017-2025.”

While most are hedging their bets on Pennsylvania’s impending recreational legalization, industry insiders know that the real story is happening in New Jersey. According to a recent Clarus report, Pennsylvania is expected to continue building on its rapid growth that has contributed to TerrAscend’s (OTC:TRSSF) foothold as one of the fastest organic revenue growth rates in the U.S. cannabis sector thanks to the strength of its Ilera unit in Pennsylvania (PA). However, New Jersey is the market with a promising outlook as the key revenue driver over the next two years.

 “Due to population density, overall population size and a prospective turn toward adult use, I think New Jersey and Pennsylvania present some of the strongest prospects in the East for sustained levels of growth,” says Greg Rochlin, CEO of Ilera Healthcare. “Given TerrAscend’s high capacity, professional operations and team in the East Coast, we are well positioned to serve our patients and communities with research-based education and high quality, consistently produced products, in compliance with the state-based regulatory guidelines.”

America’s decades-long war on drugs disproportionately harmed minorities. Now, it seems that decriminalization of marijuana hasn’t leveled the playing field.

Black men are 12 times more likely than white men to spend time incarcerated in the United States. College enrollment for black men has declined since the 1986 Anti-Drug Abuse Act went into effect.

I am a scholar of public policy. In my book, “From Criminalizing to Decriminalizing Marijuana: The Politics of Social Control,” I aim to provide a historic overview of marijuana legislation and its impact on minorities.

Unequal easing

Today, some drug laws related to marijuana are easing. Twenty five states have introduced decriminalization reforms, with 11 states allowing adult recreational use. Such reforms directly impact adults 21 years of age and older, but they also have indirect effect on younger Americans.

Even though marijuana is still illegal for people under 21, evidence is emerging that decriminalization is increasing the number of kids who consume weed illegally.

Although California is viewed as a liberal paradise – especially regarding cannabis laws – the way this state regulates CBD is still incredibly limited and regressive.

California has the oldest and largest legal cannabis market in the world. Medical marijuana has been legal in the state for 24 years now, recreational is legal, and you can easily find flower and other high-THC products in most localities. However, when it comes to CBD (cannabidiol), California dispensaries need a special license to sell hemp flower, it’s illegal to infuse CBD in edibles, and a bill is on the table that would prohibit anyone under 21 years old from buying any it.

Why the discrepancy when CBD is non-psychoactive and federally legal?

Over two decades of medical marijuana

Back in 1996, the Golden State became the first to legalize the use of medical marijuana. It was uncharted territory, and putting Prop 215 – The Compassionate Use Act, into practice would be no easy task; but the main objective was “to ensure that seriously ill Californians have the right to obtain and use marijuana for medical purposes in the treatment of cancer, anorexia, AIDS, chronic pain, spasticity, glaucoma, arthritis, migraines or any other illness for which marijuana provides relief.”

And the bill really meant ANY illness. This drew a lot of criticism, with many lawmakers believing that cannabis should only be prescribed for a very limited list of predetermined conditions. However, lawmakers are not doctors or scientists and are in no position to make assumptions on the therapeutic potential of cannabis. Questions of medication, treatments, and prescriptions should handled by healthcare practitioners and their patients.

The last two decades have brought bi-racial athletes, politicians, scientists, entrepreneurs, and more to the forefront. On August 19th we nominated Senator Kamala Harris, the first Vice President of Jamaican and Indian heritage. There is an excitement in the air, young women see themselves in Kamala Harris and think "If she can, I can". Which brings us to our interview with Socrates Rosenfeld, his father is a Greek Cypriot, his adopted stepfather is Jewish American and his mother grew up in Indonesia, of Egyptian and Sumatran roots.

I would say Socrates is the International Food Court of genetics. Socrates is the CEO of  Jane Technologies, Inc., a retail software company that created the leading online cannabis marketplace, has announced the launch of two new e-commerce modules designed to deepen brand relationships with consumers while promoting local dispensary sales. When I first met Socrates and Howard Hong up in San Francisco over 4 years ago, I saw two young men who "had it", I saw the future of Asian Americans in cannabis and who was going to lead the way in innovation and entrepreneurship.  Rosenfeld's career started in the US Army and he left with the rank of Commander, to the world of finance.

Rosenfeld's heritage I believe gave him the skills to build bridges wherever he went and to build businesses that encapsulate that multicultural heritage. It is my honor to present our Q&A with Socrates Rosenfeld, CEO of Jane Technologies.

As a child of two cultures, how did you navigate your place in the world by using that duality? (This question is about children who come from parents with diverse backgrounds and cultures, as in Tiger Woods, Kamala Harris, Colin Powell who had Jamaican and Scottish ancestry)

Socrates Rosenfeld: Growing up in a multicultural home with generations of mixed heritage, I came to understand that connection transcends language, race, or religion. I didn't have to travel around the world to be exposed to different cultures -- they were under my roof. Indonesian, Greek, American, Muslim, Christian, Jewish, and even Atheist. Naturally, there were clashes, but ultimately everyone was able to connect on the commonalities that tie us all together as human beings.

Indonesia made a splash when a decree from earlier this year declaring cannabis a “medical plant” in the eyes of the government officially got on the public’s radar. Now, the Agricultural Ministry in Indonesia is revising this decree, as cannabis is still illegal in Indonesia with no legalization in sight. 

The proclamation originally went viral via an Instagram post from the Nusantara Marijuana Network (LGN), a group that fights for cannabis legalization and advocacy in Indonesia. According to this degree, cannabis has been considered a medical plant since 2006 by the federal government; this just hasn’t necessarily been public knowledge.

“The decree will be revised soon, after we coordinate with the National Narcotics Agency [BNN], the Health Ministry and the Indonesian Institute of Sciences [LIPI],” the ministry’s vegetable and medicinal plant director, Tommy Nugraha, said in a statement on Saturday. “Marijuana’s inclusion on the medicinal plant list means that it can only be used for research, as stipulated in Article 67 of Law No. 13/2020 on horticulture. Currently, we record no legal marijuana farmers in Indonesia.”

Thus, the “medical plant” designation is very ironic, considering the strict laws against cannabis Indonesia still clings to and doesn’t show signs of giving up. As recently as 2015, a court in Bali sentenced both an Indonesian man and an Australian man who shared a joint to one year in prison. Collectively, the two had less than a gram between them in the joint. And in 2017, a man was sentenced to eight months in jail and a fine equivalent to $69,000 for growing 39 plants in order to extract oil for treating his sick wife.

The Status of Cannabis in Indonesia

Currently, in Indonesia, cannabis is still considered a type-1 narcotic, meaning it is on the same level as cocaine and opium according to national drug laws. Possession of cannabis carries up to 12 years in prison or a large fine. Those who produce or traffic cannabis could serve up to 15 years in prison and pay an even harsher fine.

Virginia made history last week when the state Senate approved a bill that would stop police officers from pulling over and searching vehicles simply because they smell of cannabis. The bill is meant to help stop racial profiling against people of color. 

This is a big deal because Black folks are more than three times as likely to be arrested for cannabis, according to the ACLU and the data that has been gathered on cannabis use. In general, stop-and-search because of a cannabis smell is likely to involve stereotyping and impact minority groups negatively. 

“This is a small but important step to decriminalizing Black and brown bodies of being targeted by this longtime policing tool, which was really created by politicizing the war on drugs,” said Chelsea Higgs Wise, executive director of the nonprofit Marijuana Justice, regarding the possibility of passing this new bill. “The odor of marijuana is something that our undocumented community is anxious about because it’s life or death and separation from their families.” 

Cannabis Crime in Virginia

While cannabis decriminalization took effect in Virginia this past July, possession of more than an ounce can still result in a serious penalty, and having up to an ounce still results in a $25 fine. Thus, the negative impact tied to policing people of color is still there under this current system. 

“All of that has to stop to meet the full demand of legalization and fully, truly decriminalizing marijuana and Black and brown bodies in the eyes of the police,” Higgs Wise said regarding the change this bill could make. 

President Donald Trump is afraid of marijuana. He said so himself: In a campaign appearance in Wisconsin earlier this month, the president cracked a nervous “joke” with former Gov. Scott Walker, suggesting that cannabis-related ballot initiatives drove Democratic Party-minded voters to the polls.

From instituting new on-the-spot cannabis fines, to battling it out in court with the EU over the legality of CBD imports, France is quite busy right now, and the implications of its case could change cannabis laws throughout Europe.

Some countries make more sense in their slower acquiescence to accepting cannabis (and some have barely started the process at all). But many countries, particularly those of Western Europe, are gradually easing restrictions on cannabis use. This is not the case for France, which just instituted new fines for cannabis users, and is fighting the EU to restrict CBD imports that have any THC at all.

Cannabis in France

In France, it’s illegal to both use and possess cannabis. Unlike most countries, France doesn’t differentiate between personal use and trafficking, meaning the amount of cannabis a person is found with, and the decision of the prosecutor, are what define the circumstance and punishment. It is up to the prosecutor in a particular case to determine whether the offender should go unpunished, if they should enter treatment, or if they will proceed in the court system. A person charged can receive a fine of up to €3,750 as well as a year long prison sentence. This is increased to €75,000 and five years in prison if the offender endangered others while using.

In 2008, the ‘rapid and graduated’ policy began which stated that in clear-cut cases, offenders could possibly get away with just a warning and a treatment program, as well as a possible fine of €450 if the person is not addicted to cannabis (however that is defined).

In 2018, yet another new policy was introduced by the government in which fines could be given on-the-spot to cannabis users. It started as a test in smaller communities, until becoming national policy last month.

As possession and use are illegal and there’s no formal medical program, growing cannabis – for any reason – is illegal, and subject to the same fines and prison time as other cannabis crimes, depending on how the prosecutor deems the case.

Approval of medical marijuana on Nov. 3 by Mississippi voters, based at least on polling, seems like a lead-pipe cinch.

A poll conducted by Millsaps College and Mississippi-based Chism Strategies in 2019 placed support for legalizing medical marijuana at 67% to 27%. In today’s polarized society, it’s difficult to find that level of support for many issues.

Yet some voters, who support the use of marijuana for medical purposes, might have second thoughts on approving the issue at the ballot box.

There will be two medical marijuana proposals on the ballot this November: a citizen-sponsored initiative, and an alternative approved by legislators.

Legislators placed the alternative on the ballot because they argued the citizen-sponsored initiative is too lax, allowing easy access to marijuana. Others would argue the legislators’ proposal is too restrictive and is being placed on the ballot just to confuse voters and guarantee the defeat of both.