Study Shows Cannabis Can Help Replace Medications For These 4 Conditions
Cannabis has been proven to help treat all types of conditions, from diabetes to Tourette's Syndrome.
If you are a veteran cannabis consumer, then you know first-hand the wellness benefits that come along with cannabis consumption.
For many years people have looked to the cannabis plant for help treating pain, anxiety, migraine headaches, and sleep related issues.
A quick online search yields countless personal stories about how cannabis has helped people suffering from those particular conditions. Perhaps yours is one of them?
Many of the stories talk about how people were able to give up their prescriptions tied to those conditions, but is that just anecdotal evidence? What does research have to say?
Recent study yields inspiring results
Cannabis with stethoscope
Having to take fewer pills is a good thing!
A recent study looked at the prescription drug usage among 1,513 individuals who started using medical cannabis after it became legal where they live.
According to the results of the study, significant portions of the subjects reported using less prescription drugs for the condition(s) they were treating.
76.7% of study respondents reported using less opioids after they started using medical cannabis.
Study participants also reported using less medications for anxiety (71.8% used less), for migraines (66.7% used less), and sleep (65.2% used less).
The study also found that medical cannabis users reported a reduction in the use of medications for antidepressants (37.6%) and alcohol (42.0%).
Patients are making the safer choice
cannabis plant
Our bodies have been evolving with this plant for thousands of years.
Americans make up roughly 5% of the global population, but consume an estimated 80% of all opioid pharmaceutical drugs on the planet.
It is no wonder that the country is in the midst of an opioid epidemic. Cannabis has the power to help people reduce their opioid use, and in the process, save lives.
Hydrocodone is one of the most commonly prescribed opioid painkillers. Side effects include: constipation, stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, itching, swelling, muscle pain, back pain, headache and/or dizziness.
Other medications carry similar, and in some cases worse, side effects than hydrocodone. Medications for anxiety, migraines, and sleep issues also carry many harmful side effects, including death in some cases.
Cannabis on the other hand is non-toxic and has been proven to be safer than most pharmaceutical medications. Every person than can replace one or more prescriptions with medical cannabis is potentially a life saved.
Replacing expensive prescriptions helps save patients' dollars
Holding jars of cannabis
Instead of putting man-made chemicals into your body, you can opt for something that come straight from the earth.
It is no secret that prescription drugs in America are getting more and more expensive every year. Medications for pain, anxiety, migraines, and sleep problems can be especially expensive.
One of the most commonly prescribed pharmaceutical medications for anxiety is Xanax. A packet of 30 tablets without insurance can cost over $100.
Six tablets of Ambien, one of the most commonly prescribed medications for sleeping disorders, is $73.
Medications in America are not cheap, and the prices for prescriptions continues to go up all of the time. Compare that to the price of medical cannabis which is much more consistent, and is often getting cheaper as competition continues to grow in the cannabis industry.
In addition to helping save people's lives, medical cannabis also has the ability to help patients save money at the same time.
Important things to keep in mind about replacing prescriptions with medical cannabis
man inspecting cannabis plant
Although cannabis has a lot of application, it should not be viewed as a pancea.
It is important to point out that medical cannabis may not be a good substitution for certain medications. Different conditions combined with different people's biological systems means that there is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to medical cannabis, or any medication for that matter.
Just like with any medication, be mindful of your approach to incorporating medical cannabis into your wellness strategy.
One thing that the previously cited study didn't mention was what type of medical cannabis was consumed, and what method was used.
A heavy indica strain is going to have a different effect than a heavy sativa strain will. Some patients respond to certain strains and certain methods of consumption better than others.
Experiment with what you have available in your area until you find something right for you. Start out by microdosing with an edible or vaporizer, then when you find a strain or product that is best for you, slowly ramp up consumption amounts as needed.
http://420intel.com/articles/2017/06/07 ... conditions
News in English 2017
Alueen säännöt
Politiikka ja media
Tämä alue on tarkoitettu kannabis- ja päihdepolitiikasta keskusteluun.
Alue on erittäin tiukasti moderoitu; lue ohjeet ennen kirjoittamista. Alueelle kuulumattomat keskustelut siirretään Tuhkakuppiin.
Kirjoita viestisi asialliseen ulkoasuun. Ylläpidolla on oikeus muuttaa epäasiallisen viestin sisältöä tai poistaa viesti.
Politiikka ja media
Tämä alue on tarkoitettu kannabis- ja päihdepolitiikasta keskusteluun.
Alue on erittäin tiukasti moderoitu; lue ohjeet ennen kirjoittamista. Alueelle kuulumattomat keskustelut siirretään Tuhkakuppiin.
Kirjoita viestisi asialliseen ulkoasuun. Ylläpidolla on oikeus muuttaa epäasiallisen viestin sisältöä tai poistaa viesti.
Re: News in English 2017
Cannabis Ad Finds a High Audience
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1i_kwzV89D8
As cannabis brands around the country grapple with legal woes in advertising their products, one company has found a way to reach millions—while they're already high.
Wikileaf, a price-comparison app for the legal cannabis market, is running an in-flight ad on Virgin America's domestic routes with the app's commerical playing on every seatback with a screen. The campaign, which began in mid-June, runs through mid-September. Wikileaf CEO Dan Nelson says it's expected to reach nearly 8 million passengers.
"We wanted to get somewhere more mainstream," Nelson says. "We had ads in various magazines and online places where it's cannabis-focused, but we wanted some out-of-the-box ideas."
Inventive advertising is a necessity for an industry boxed in by legal statutes and corporate policies. What was supposed to be the first televised cannabis ad, in 2015, never made it to air when Denver's ABC affiliate cited legal concerns. Since the federal government regulates airwaves—and marijuana is still illegal at the federal level—the laws surrounding television ads are unclear. Many states do clearly bar advertising of cannabis and alcoholic products within 1,000 feet of a school.
Corporations are also wary of the backlash. Nelson says Wikileaf used to promote its blogs on Facebook, but in 2016 the platform stopped allowing drug companies to promote posts.
The Apple App Store has had strict rules as well. Previously, apps in the store could review strains and show photos, but not show real-time prices at legal dispensaries.
A good relationship with an app reviewer eventually helped Wifileaf break that barrier, says Nelson, and it became the first cannabis app on the Apple store to show prices.
Even Virgin America, where Wikileaf is currently advertising, included a clause in the contract barring the app from mentioning the airline (a social media search revealed on which airline the company was advertising).
The ad shows a woman packing for an upcoming trip —clothes, makeup, shampoo, electronic devices. "And the biggest decision of them all, should you bring your cannabis?" the narrator asks. The obvious answer is no, and this PSA/Wikileaf ad hopes to discourage that behavior while encouraging potential customers to download the app once the flight lands.
"We're trying to go mainstream," Nelson says. "Grab people who aren't your normal cannabis purchaser."
http://420intel.com/articles/2017/08/14 ... h-audience
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1i_kwzV89D8
As cannabis brands around the country grapple with legal woes in advertising their products, one company has found a way to reach millions—while they're already high.
Wikileaf, a price-comparison app for the legal cannabis market, is running an in-flight ad on Virgin America's domestic routes with the app's commerical playing on every seatback with a screen. The campaign, which began in mid-June, runs through mid-September. Wikileaf CEO Dan Nelson says it's expected to reach nearly 8 million passengers.
"We wanted to get somewhere more mainstream," Nelson says. "We had ads in various magazines and online places where it's cannabis-focused, but we wanted some out-of-the-box ideas."
Inventive advertising is a necessity for an industry boxed in by legal statutes and corporate policies. What was supposed to be the first televised cannabis ad, in 2015, never made it to air when Denver's ABC affiliate cited legal concerns. Since the federal government regulates airwaves—and marijuana is still illegal at the federal level—the laws surrounding television ads are unclear. Many states do clearly bar advertising of cannabis and alcoholic products within 1,000 feet of a school.
Corporations are also wary of the backlash. Nelson says Wikileaf used to promote its blogs on Facebook, but in 2016 the platform stopped allowing drug companies to promote posts.
The Apple App Store has had strict rules as well. Previously, apps in the store could review strains and show photos, but not show real-time prices at legal dispensaries.
A good relationship with an app reviewer eventually helped Wifileaf break that barrier, says Nelson, and it became the first cannabis app on the Apple store to show prices.
Even Virgin America, where Wikileaf is currently advertising, included a clause in the contract barring the app from mentioning the airline (a social media search revealed on which airline the company was advertising).
The ad shows a woman packing for an upcoming trip —clothes, makeup, shampoo, electronic devices. "And the biggest decision of them all, should you bring your cannabis?" the narrator asks. The obvious answer is no, and this PSA/Wikileaf ad hopes to discourage that behavior while encouraging potential customers to download the app once the flight lands.
"We're trying to go mainstream," Nelson says. "Grab people who aren't your normal cannabis purchaser."
http://420intel.com/articles/2017/08/14 ... h-audience
Re: News in English 2017
Growing Legalization of Cannabis Use in Many Regions Drives the Global Cannabis Testing Market Scrutinized in New Research
Cannabis Testing Market is driven by government initiatives, growing awareness about drug testing, growing legalization of cannabis use in many regions.
Cannabis testing defines various drug test methods for the usage of cannabis in medical prescription, sports medicine, and law. The rapidly increasing applications of cannabis (marijuana) in mainstream medicine such as pain management is poised to increase demand for cannabis testing measures.
The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) has categorized cannabis under the Schedule 1 classification as “a dangerous narcotic”. However, the great number of research articles on various portals such as PubMed suggest the rapidly growing manufacture and application of cannabis in various medical conditions.
This in turn is leading to increased cannabis research programs and demand for laboratory services. Moreover, owing to the prohibition on the use of cannabis in large parts of the world and rising incidence of driving under influence, the necessity of suitable cannabis testing is escalating.
Hence, demand for cannabis testing is likely to increase at a high rate during the forecast period from 2017 to 2025.
The growing legalization of cannabis use in many regions is the primary driver of the global cannabis testing market. For instance, 25 states in the U.S.
have at present legalized the usage of cannabis for medical purposes and numerous other states are likely to follow suit in the near future. In addition, rapidly rising number of dedicated laboratories for cannabis testing, developing consciousness for the accessibility of these tests via workshops and seminars, and high number of drug abuse related accidents are factors driving demand for cannabis testing.
However, low research and development (R&D) investments due to social concerns, high infrastructure cost, stringent regulatory framework, and lack of trained resources are the major restraints of the cannabis testing market.
Based on test type, cannabis testing can be classified into terpene profiling, potency testing, pesticide screening, residual solvent screening, microbial analysis, genetic testing, and heavy metal testing. Lack of investments in the development of proper drug testing research laboratory has been hamper the growth of the market for a long time.
However, recent changes are painting a different picture and helping develop these markets. In terms of end-user, the cannabis testing market can be segmented into laboratories, research institutes, drug manufacturers, and cultivators.
Federal departments are also one of the end-users of the cannabis testing market. Moreover, growing recreational and personal use of cannabis is expected to boost the market during the forecast period.
Geographically, the cannabis testing market can be segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, and Latin America. North America is anticipated to dominate the market due to growing legalization of cannabis for medical use and enactment of stringent laws by the government in the region.
Developing nations in Asia Pacific are expected to witness the fastest growth during the forecast period. Growing awareness about drug testing coupled with government initiatives, and reduction in cost are the major drivers of the market in these region.
Violation of privacy rights in some countries is likely to act as a major restraint of the market.
Key players in the market include Agilent Technologies, Inc., Shimadzu Corporation, Waters Corporation, PerkinElmer, Inc., AB SCIEX LLC, Millipore Sigma, Restek Corporation, LabLynx, Inc. (U.S.), Steep Hill Labs, Inc., PharmLabs, LLC, SC Laboratories, Inc., Digipath Labs, Inc., CannaSafe Analytics, and Accelerated Technology Laboratories, Inc.
http://420intel.com/articles/2017/08/16 ... is-testing
Cannabis Testing Market is driven by government initiatives, growing awareness about drug testing, growing legalization of cannabis use in many regions.
Cannabis testing defines various drug test methods for the usage of cannabis in medical prescription, sports medicine, and law. The rapidly increasing applications of cannabis (marijuana) in mainstream medicine such as pain management is poised to increase demand for cannabis testing measures.
The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) has categorized cannabis under the Schedule 1 classification as “a dangerous narcotic”. However, the great number of research articles on various portals such as PubMed suggest the rapidly growing manufacture and application of cannabis in various medical conditions.
This in turn is leading to increased cannabis research programs and demand for laboratory services. Moreover, owing to the prohibition on the use of cannabis in large parts of the world and rising incidence of driving under influence, the necessity of suitable cannabis testing is escalating.
Hence, demand for cannabis testing is likely to increase at a high rate during the forecast period from 2017 to 2025.
The growing legalization of cannabis use in many regions is the primary driver of the global cannabis testing market. For instance, 25 states in the U.S.
have at present legalized the usage of cannabis for medical purposes and numerous other states are likely to follow suit in the near future. In addition, rapidly rising number of dedicated laboratories for cannabis testing, developing consciousness for the accessibility of these tests via workshops and seminars, and high number of drug abuse related accidents are factors driving demand for cannabis testing.
However, low research and development (R&D) investments due to social concerns, high infrastructure cost, stringent regulatory framework, and lack of trained resources are the major restraints of the cannabis testing market.
Based on test type, cannabis testing can be classified into terpene profiling, potency testing, pesticide screening, residual solvent screening, microbial analysis, genetic testing, and heavy metal testing. Lack of investments in the development of proper drug testing research laboratory has been hamper the growth of the market for a long time.
However, recent changes are painting a different picture and helping develop these markets. In terms of end-user, the cannabis testing market can be segmented into laboratories, research institutes, drug manufacturers, and cultivators.
Federal departments are also one of the end-users of the cannabis testing market. Moreover, growing recreational and personal use of cannabis is expected to boost the market during the forecast period.
Geographically, the cannabis testing market can be segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, and Latin America. North America is anticipated to dominate the market due to growing legalization of cannabis for medical use and enactment of stringent laws by the government in the region.
Developing nations in Asia Pacific are expected to witness the fastest growth during the forecast period. Growing awareness about drug testing coupled with government initiatives, and reduction in cost are the major drivers of the market in these region.
Violation of privacy rights in some countries is likely to act as a major restraint of the market.
Key players in the market include Agilent Technologies, Inc., Shimadzu Corporation, Waters Corporation, PerkinElmer, Inc., AB SCIEX LLC, Millipore Sigma, Restek Corporation, LabLynx, Inc. (U.S.), Steep Hill Labs, Inc., PharmLabs, LLC, SC Laboratories, Inc., Digipath Labs, Inc., CannaSafe Analytics, and Accelerated Technology Laboratories, Inc.
http://420intel.com/articles/2017/08/16 ... is-testing
Re: News in English 2017
The 11 Cannabis Strain Names Now Prohibited in Oregon
On Aug. 11, 2017, the Oregon Liquor Control Commission announced that it had issued a clarification on prohibited cannabis strain names in the state. The rules are intended to prevent strain names from appealing to minors and from misleading consumers.
The OLCC has put the prohibited strain names in three distinct categories: strains named after children’s toys or characters; strains named after children’s food products; and strains with misleading names.
While the OLCC did not provide a complete list of prohibited cannabis strain names, here are 11 strain names that are not allowed:
1. Incredible Hulk
2. Ewok
3. Optimus Prime
4. Light Saber
5. Any Girl Scout Cookie – Dosidos, Thin Mints, etc.
6. Frosted Flakes
7. Lucky Charms
8. Skittles
9. Green Crack
10. Opium
11. Special K
According to BDS Analytics, Girl Scout Cookies was the sixth most popular strain sold in Oregon in 2016 as far as sales were concerned.
It’s important to note that the actual strains themselves aren’t banned, but rather their names, so licensees may be able to use abbreviations or nicknames as replacements as long as they don’t violate the strain name rules.
Considering the OLCC’s update is intended to act as guidance for labeling and advertising, one can assume that strain names like Animal Cookies or Wonder Woman would also fall under the prohibited list.
Beyond providing its guidance on cannabis strain names, the OLCC issued an updated packaging and labeling guide for medical and recreational cannabis as well as a guideto the package and label pre-approval process.
The permanent cannabis labeling rules went into effect on May 31, 2017.
http://420intel.com/articles/2017/08/15 ... ted-oregon
On Aug. 11, 2017, the Oregon Liquor Control Commission announced that it had issued a clarification on prohibited cannabis strain names in the state. The rules are intended to prevent strain names from appealing to minors and from misleading consumers.
The OLCC has put the prohibited strain names in three distinct categories: strains named after children’s toys or characters; strains named after children’s food products; and strains with misleading names.
While the OLCC did not provide a complete list of prohibited cannabis strain names, here are 11 strain names that are not allowed:
1. Incredible Hulk
2. Ewok
3. Optimus Prime
4. Light Saber
5. Any Girl Scout Cookie – Dosidos, Thin Mints, etc.
6. Frosted Flakes
7. Lucky Charms
8. Skittles
9. Green Crack
10. Opium
11. Special K
According to BDS Analytics, Girl Scout Cookies was the sixth most popular strain sold in Oregon in 2016 as far as sales were concerned.
It’s important to note that the actual strains themselves aren’t banned, but rather their names, so licensees may be able to use abbreviations or nicknames as replacements as long as they don’t violate the strain name rules.
Considering the OLCC’s update is intended to act as guidance for labeling and advertising, one can assume that strain names like Animal Cookies or Wonder Woman would also fall under the prohibited list.
Beyond providing its guidance on cannabis strain names, the OLCC issued an updated packaging and labeling guide for medical and recreational cannabis as well as a guideto the package and label pre-approval process.
The permanent cannabis labeling rules went into effect on May 31, 2017.
http://420intel.com/articles/2017/08/15 ... ted-oregon
Re: News in English 2017
Maryland Regulators Approve Eight New Medical Marijuana Growers
Maryland’s medical marijuana regulators approved final licenses for eight growing companies on Monday, allowing them to start cultivating the drug.
Several companies said they are ready to begin growing immediately, while others say they will take weeks to get started.
“Now, we have a real industry,” said Cary Millstein, CEO of newly licensed grower Freestate Wellness in Howard County.
Until Monday, just one of the 15 selected firms had received final permission to start cultivating medical marijuana, which was first legalized in the state in 2013. Even at full capacity, one firm could not produce nearly enough to support 102 planned dispensaries.
Marijuana industry research group New Frontier estimates Maryland’s market will be worth $221 million annually by 2021.
Millstein whooped as the commission approved his license, the first of several outbursts punctuating an otherwise staid government meeting in Harford County. Members of Temescal Wellness of Maryland’s team fist-bumped — one man danced in his seat and started rapidly texting champagne bottle emojis — as the company’s license to start growing in Baltimore was approved.
Some firms raced to meet Monday’s deadline to become operational.
Curio Wellness of Baltimore County, which also received its license Monday, has been waiting for more than two months for final approval to bring plants into its nine high-tech, climate-controlled growing chambers in a 56,000-square-foot Timonium warehouse.
“As with any start up industry, you’re bound to have bumps in the road,” Curio CEO Michael Bronfein said in a recent interview.
The last-minute approvals follow the rocky start to an industry that has been beset by lawsuits, controversy and delays.
State courts are reviewing two cases that allege Maryland regulators improperly picked which companies could grow the drug, and state lawmakers have weighed issuing more licenses to make sure some go to firms owned by African-Americans, who don’t own any of the 15 firms selected for preliminary growing licenses.
Del. Cheryl Glenn, the Baltimore Democrat who chairs the General Assembly’s Legislative Black Caucus, has called for the commission to stop issuing licenses.
Meanwhile, patients have been waiting. As of Monday, 12,000 people had signed up to become eligible for medical marijuana and 400 medical providers had signed up to recommend it to them.
Brian Lopez, the newly appointed chairman of the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission, said there was still a lot work to be done to bring online the remaining growers and all of the marijuana processors and dispensaries hoping to open across the state. Only one dispensary, in Frederick, is licensed. More than 100 others are pending.
Monday was the deadline for growing companies to be operational, or risk losing their licenses. Nine companies are now permitted to grow medical marijuana. Another two underwent final inspections on Monday. The future of the remaining four is not clear.
The commission’s executive director Patrick Jameson said the panel will weigh whether to grant extensions to those companies on Aug. 28.
Jameson said he thought having trouble with local zoning laws was a valid reason to seek an extension, but failing to raise capital or otherwise execute a business plan was not.
The commission also approved the state’s first marijuana processors Monday, granting final licenses to four firms, three of which will also grow the drug.
The eight growers approved Monday join Anne Arundel County-based ForwardGro — the first company to receive a final license — and they represent a wide array of approaches to capitalize on the market.
Some plan to exclusively be wholesalers. Others have launched operations to grow and then process the drug. Others plan to open dispensaries that will sell specially branded products grown and processed in house.
In addition to Freestate Wellness and Temescal, the commission granted final growing licenses to Harvest of Maryland in Washington County, as well as to Green Leaf Medical and HMS Health, which are both in Fredrick County. Grower and processor licenses went to Curio Wellness in Timonium, Holistic in Prince George’s County and Carroll County’s Grassroots of Maryland, a company that has done business as Maryland Compassionate Care and Wellness. Blair Wellness of Worcester County also won a final license to process medical marijuana.
Jameson, the commission’s executive director, said Grow West LLC and SunMed Growers received a final inspection from the state on Monday.
http://420intel.com/articles/2017/08/15 ... na-growers
Maryland’s medical marijuana regulators approved final licenses for eight growing companies on Monday, allowing them to start cultivating the drug.
Several companies said they are ready to begin growing immediately, while others say they will take weeks to get started.
“Now, we have a real industry,” said Cary Millstein, CEO of newly licensed grower Freestate Wellness in Howard County.
Until Monday, just one of the 15 selected firms had received final permission to start cultivating medical marijuana, which was first legalized in the state in 2013. Even at full capacity, one firm could not produce nearly enough to support 102 planned dispensaries.
Marijuana industry research group New Frontier estimates Maryland’s market will be worth $221 million annually by 2021.
Millstein whooped as the commission approved his license, the first of several outbursts punctuating an otherwise staid government meeting in Harford County. Members of Temescal Wellness of Maryland’s team fist-bumped — one man danced in his seat and started rapidly texting champagne bottle emojis — as the company’s license to start growing in Baltimore was approved.
Some firms raced to meet Monday’s deadline to become operational.
Curio Wellness of Baltimore County, which also received its license Monday, has been waiting for more than two months for final approval to bring plants into its nine high-tech, climate-controlled growing chambers in a 56,000-square-foot Timonium warehouse.
“As with any start up industry, you’re bound to have bumps in the road,” Curio CEO Michael Bronfein said in a recent interview.
The last-minute approvals follow the rocky start to an industry that has been beset by lawsuits, controversy and delays.
State courts are reviewing two cases that allege Maryland regulators improperly picked which companies could grow the drug, and state lawmakers have weighed issuing more licenses to make sure some go to firms owned by African-Americans, who don’t own any of the 15 firms selected for preliminary growing licenses.
Del. Cheryl Glenn, the Baltimore Democrat who chairs the General Assembly’s Legislative Black Caucus, has called for the commission to stop issuing licenses.
Meanwhile, patients have been waiting. As of Monday, 12,000 people had signed up to become eligible for medical marijuana and 400 medical providers had signed up to recommend it to them.
Brian Lopez, the newly appointed chairman of the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission, said there was still a lot work to be done to bring online the remaining growers and all of the marijuana processors and dispensaries hoping to open across the state. Only one dispensary, in Frederick, is licensed. More than 100 others are pending.
Monday was the deadline for growing companies to be operational, or risk losing their licenses. Nine companies are now permitted to grow medical marijuana. Another two underwent final inspections on Monday. The future of the remaining four is not clear.
The commission’s executive director Patrick Jameson said the panel will weigh whether to grant extensions to those companies on Aug. 28.
Jameson said he thought having trouble with local zoning laws was a valid reason to seek an extension, but failing to raise capital or otherwise execute a business plan was not.
The commission also approved the state’s first marijuana processors Monday, granting final licenses to four firms, three of which will also grow the drug.
The eight growers approved Monday join Anne Arundel County-based ForwardGro — the first company to receive a final license — and they represent a wide array of approaches to capitalize on the market.
Some plan to exclusively be wholesalers. Others have launched operations to grow and then process the drug. Others plan to open dispensaries that will sell specially branded products grown and processed in house.
In addition to Freestate Wellness and Temescal, the commission granted final growing licenses to Harvest of Maryland in Washington County, as well as to Green Leaf Medical and HMS Health, which are both in Fredrick County. Grower and processor licenses went to Curio Wellness in Timonium, Holistic in Prince George’s County and Carroll County’s Grassroots of Maryland, a company that has done business as Maryland Compassionate Care and Wellness. Blair Wellness of Worcester County also won a final license to process medical marijuana.
Jameson, the commission’s executive director, said Grow West LLC and SunMed Growers received a final inspection from the state on Monday.
http://420intel.com/articles/2017/08/15 ... na-growers
Re: News in English 2017
Marijuana Mapping Company Puts up Pro-Legalization Advertisements in Michigan
A California-based marijuana mapping company has invested in digital and physical advertising in three Michigan cities to tout the benefits of legalized marijuana.
Weedmaps, a mapping and technology service for dispensaries and other marijuana services nationwide, recently started a public education campaign called WEEDFACTS to "provide communities with credible, verifiable facts about the benefits of legal marijuana" and start discussion around the issue, a company spokesperson said.
Physical billboards are currently up in Ann Arbor and Lansing, and digital advertisements are also running in Detroit, the spokesperson said.
Subject matter includes statistics on a decrease in opioid deaths and tax revenue increases in states that have legalized marijuana, Medicaid savings as a result of legalization and positive employment statistics in cannabis-related industries.
In addition to Michigan, WEEDFACTS campaigns are also up and running in Arizona, California, Canada, Colorado, Massachusetts, Oregon and Washington.
The Weedmaps advertising comes as the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol continues its efforts to get signatures for a ballot proposal to legalize recreational marijuana use in Michigan. Another group, Keep Pot Out of Neighborhoods and Schools, has come out in opposition to the proposed ballot petition.
State Sen. Rick Jones, R-Grand Ledge -- who recently sponsored a bill to ban advertising on billboards for marijuana-related industries in a manner similar to tobacco -- said Weedmaps has a right to post signs in favor of marijuana, but said he believes legalizing recreational use would not do what the messages claim.
"I do believe there is a place for medical marijuana for the truly sick," Jones said. "If they make that recreational, I think that will be a huge mistake...it's not the big tax revenue thing they think it is."
http://420intel.com/articles/2017/08/15 ... s-michigan
A California-based marijuana mapping company has invested in digital and physical advertising in three Michigan cities to tout the benefits of legalized marijuana.
Weedmaps, a mapping and technology service for dispensaries and other marijuana services nationwide, recently started a public education campaign called WEEDFACTS to "provide communities with credible, verifiable facts about the benefits of legal marijuana" and start discussion around the issue, a company spokesperson said.
Physical billboards are currently up in Ann Arbor and Lansing, and digital advertisements are also running in Detroit, the spokesperson said.
Subject matter includes statistics on a decrease in opioid deaths and tax revenue increases in states that have legalized marijuana, Medicaid savings as a result of legalization and positive employment statistics in cannabis-related industries.
In addition to Michigan, WEEDFACTS campaigns are also up and running in Arizona, California, Canada, Colorado, Massachusetts, Oregon and Washington.
The Weedmaps advertising comes as the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol continues its efforts to get signatures for a ballot proposal to legalize recreational marijuana use in Michigan. Another group, Keep Pot Out of Neighborhoods and Schools, has come out in opposition to the proposed ballot petition.
State Sen. Rick Jones, R-Grand Ledge -- who recently sponsored a bill to ban advertising on billboards for marijuana-related industries in a manner similar to tobacco -- said Weedmaps has a right to post signs in favor of marijuana, but said he believes legalizing recreational use would not do what the messages claim.
"I do believe there is a place for medical marijuana for the truly sick," Jones said. "If they make that recreational, I think that will be a huge mistake...it's not the big tax revenue thing they think it is."
http://420intel.com/articles/2017/08/15 ... s-michigan
Re: News in English 2017
Will California’s Pesticide Regulations Hurt the Weed Industry?
California’s organics-loving, go-green mentality is what makes the state a hub for environmental progress, but in the case of the cannabis industry, some say it could be its downfall. Pesticide regulations released earlier this year by the California Bureau of Medical Cannabis are some of the strictest requirements in the country — possibly the strictest — and have left both cultivators and testing laboratories reeling.
“They will be exceptionally difficult if not virtually impossible [to meet],” said Dr. Jeffrey Raber, chief executive of the Werc Shop, a cannabis research and testing facility in Monrovia.
Pesticides are an integral part of both the indoor and outdoor agricultural industry, and are used to help fend off or kill mites, bugs, diseases or other threats to a plant’s integrity. They’re also poison, and most industry members agree pesticides need to be regulated in a manner comparable to other agricultural products we consume. In fact, marijuana faces additional scrutiny because it is also a form of medicine, and some consumers who use it suffer from compromised immune systems.
However, California’s current “residual tolerance requirements” — basically, how much of certain pesticides is allowed to remain on cannabis products when they’re ready to hit the market — may pose problems on the production line. For one, the microscopic amounts that labs will be testing — either on a parts per million (ppm) or parts per billion (ppb) basis — require extremely expensive equipment that’s difficult to maintain and that many facilities will have to specially purchase, Raber said. It’s like investing in a house, he said, and can cost upward of $500,000.
This could not only prove prohibitive for testing facilities but also result in a laboratory bottleneck as producers across the state flock to get products tested in accordance with California law.
One of the most contentious chemicals on California’s list is Myclobutanil, a fungicide commonly used on almonds, berries and grapes in the state. For these foods, Myclobutanil is limited to .025 parts per million, Raber said, while for cannabis edibles, it’s currently limited to .02 parts per million. Based on his lab’s calculations — which take into account how much an average consumer weighs and how much weed they’d be consuming per day — the conservative limit for cannabis should actually be closer to 1.5 parts per million.
In short, people consume less cannabis, so the acceptable pesticide rates can be higher.
“You’re going to eat a whole lot more apples and grapes than you are cannabis,” he said.
Acceptable pesticide levels vary depending on if the product is cannabis flower, an edible or another type of processed cannabis, and Raber said that distinguishing based on method of intake makes sense. When one eats weed, it’s metabolized and filtered by the liver, and there’s already an existing body of research on how pesticides are processed in oral consumption, he said. When weed is smoked, however, it goes straight into the bloodstream. In addition, there's no prior body of research on the topic, so it's appropriate that regulators exercise caution with requirements for cannabis flowers.
The draft regulations also may be difficult for cultivators to meet, especially because up until this time, most had little to no guidance on what types of pesticides to use or at what point of the growing process they should be applied, Raber said. There is the added complication that Myclobutanil (among others) can spread through groundwater and rainwater, and show up in the product of a grower who hasn’t even used that pesticide.
“Pesticide testing makes up a very small percentage of the number of tests we do because it’s expensive and no one's requiring it yet,” said Josh Wurzer, president and lab director of SC Laboratories Inc., a cannabis testing facility in Santa Ana.
Of the cannabis products SC Labs has tested, in which it screened for the 12 most common pesticides, about 77 percent of cannabis concentrates would fail California’s proposed regulations by a landslide, Wurzer said. The findings of aNBC investigation released earlier this year echo this conclusion. In a review of 44 weed samples obtained from 15 dispensaries throughout Southern California, a lab found that 93 percent of them tested positive for pesticides, at high enough levels that they would have been banned from states that currently regulate pesticides in cannabis.
California’s regulations were determined in large part by recommendations made by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation, which oversees the sale and use of pesticides in an effort to protect human health and the environment. Toxicologists used research data provided by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, as well as existing regulations from other states, to try to pinpoint quantities of pesticides safe for use.
“We welcome these tight regulations on pesticides,” said Ryan Jennemann, manager of sustainability-focused THC Design, a cultivator based in Los Angeles
For producers like Jennemann — whose pest-management program is 100 percent organic and consists of only natural bacterias and beneficial fungi — these proposed requirements only serve to further distinguish them from the pesticide-using pack. The draft requirements are a lot stricter than anticipated, Jennemann said, but they’re also direly needed, as independent studies have shown widespread use of hormones and chemicals in California’s cannabis.
“You can see how almost nobody in the industry is growing a safe product,” he said. “I have been in zero grows over 4,000 [or] 5,000 square feet that I haven’t seen banned substances.”
As for the hotly disputed Myclobutanil, Jennemann said, growers shouldn’t be using it in the first place. (Although the drug is classified as having "low acute toxicity," workers exposed to it have reported everything from nausea and eye irritation to abdominal pain and vomiting, and studies in rats show it could have long-term effects on reproductive systems.)
But even Jennemann isn’t totally satisfied with the proposed regulations. For one, when testing is regulated on the parts-per-billion level, it can detect pesticides that were present in the product not just weeks but months before production. This can pose a huge issue for even the greenest of companies, since they often buy genetics or do collaborations with other growers and can as a result be penalized for a poison that was never applied by them.
With a Jan. 1 rollout looming, Alex Traverso, chief of communications at the Bureau of Medical Cannabis Regulation, said that these testing requirements are not set in stone. The state is withdrawing the proposed medical regulations and reworking guidelines that combine both medical and adult-use industries, as dictated by SB 94. While California will certainly have some of the “more stringent testing standards of any state that’s legalized thus far,” Traverso said they’re trying to protect consumers while minimizing financial burden on producers.
“All along we recognize that the overall goal here in terms of legalizing and regulating the industry is to do as much as you can to eliminate the black market, and you don’t do that if you make things cost-prohibitive,” he said.
http://420intel.com/articles/2017/08/15 ... d-industry
California’s organics-loving, go-green mentality is what makes the state a hub for environmental progress, but in the case of the cannabis industry, some say it could be its downfall. Pesticide regulations released earlier this year by the California Bureau of Medical Cannabis are some of the strictest requirements in the country — possibly the strictest — and have left both cultivators and testing laboratories reeling.
“They will be exceptionally difficult if not virtually impossible [to meet],” said Dr. Jeffrey Raber, chief executive of the Werc Shop, a cannabis research and testing facility in Monrovia.
Pesticides are an integral part of both the indoor and outdoor agricultural industry, and are used to help fend off or kill mites, bugs, diseases or other threats to a plant’s integrity. They’re also poison, and most industry members agree pesticides need to be regulated in a manner comparable to other agricultural products we consume. In fact, marijuana faces additional scrutiny because it is also a form of medicine, and some consumers who use it suffer from compromised immune systems.
However, California’s current “residual tolerance requirements” — basically, how much of certain pesticides is allowed to remain on cannabis products when they’re ready to hit the market — may pose problems on the production line. For one, the microscopic amounts that labs will be testing — either on a parts per million (ppm) or parts per billion (ppb) basis — require extremely expensive equipment that’s difficult to maintain and that many facilities will have to specially purchase, Raber said. It’s like investing in a house, he said, and can cost upward of $500,000.
This could not only prove prohibitive for testing facilities but also result in a laboratory bottleneck as producers across the state flock to get products tested in accordance with California law.
One of the most contentious chemicals on California’s list is Myclobutanil, a fungicide commonly used on almonds, berries and grapes in the state. For these foods, Myclobutanil is limited to .025 parts per million, Raber said, while for cannabis edibles, it’s currently limited to .02 parts per million. Based on his lab’s calculations — which take into account how much an average consumer weighs and how much weed they’d be consuming per day — the conservative limit for cannabis should actually be closer to 1.5 parts per million.
In short, people consume less cannabis, so the acceptable pesticide rates can be higher.
“You’re going to eat a whole lot more apples and grapes than you are cannabis,” he said.
Acceptable pesticide levels vary depending on if the product is cannabis flower, an edible or another type of processed cannabis, and Raber said that distinguishing based on method of intake makes sense. When one eats weed, it’s metabolized and filtered by the liver, and there’s already an existing body of research on how pesticides are processed in oral consumption, he said. When weed is smoked, however, it goes straight into the bloodstream. In addition, there's no prior body of research on the topic, so it's appropriate that regulators exercise caution with requirements for cannabis flowers.
The draft regulations also may be difficult for cultivators to meet, especially because up until this time, most had little to no guidance on what types of pesticides to use or at what point of the growing process they should be applied, Raber said. There is the added complication that Myclobutanil (among others) can spread through groundwater and rainwater, and show up in the product of a grower who hasn’t even used that pesticide.
“Pesticide testing makes up a very small percentage of the number of tests we do because it’s expensive and no one's requiring it yet,” said Josh Wurzer, president and lab director of SC Laboratories Inc., a cannabis testing facility in Santa Ana.
Of the cannabis products SC Labs has tested, in which it screened for the 12 most common pesticides, about 77 percent of cannabis concentrates would fail California’s proposed regulations by a landslide, Wurzer said. The findings of aNBC investigation released earlier this year echo this conclusion. In a review of 44 weed samples obtained from 15 dispensaries throughout Southern California, a lab found that 93 percent of them tested positive for pesticides, at high enough levels that they would have been banned from states that currently regulate pesticides in cannabis.
California’s regulations were determined in large part by recommendations made by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation, which oversees the sale and use of pesticides in an effort to protect human health and the environment. Toxicologists used research data provided by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, as well as existing regulations from other states, to try to pinpoint quantities of pesticides safe for use.
“We welcome these tight regulations on pesticides,” said Ryan Jennemann, manager of sustainability-focused THC Design, a cultivator based in Los Angeles
For producers like Jennemann — whose pest-management program is 100 percent organic and consists of only natural bacterias and beneficial fungi — these proposed requirements only serve to further distinguish them from the pesticide-using pack. The draft requirements are a lot stricter than anticipated, Jennemann said, but they’re also direly needed, as independent studies have shown widespread use of hormones and chemicals in California’s cannabis.
“You can see how almost nobody in the industry is growing a safe product,” he said. “I have been in zero grows over 4,000 [or] 5,000 square feet that I haven’t seen banned substances.”
As for the hotly disputed Myclobutanil, Jennemann said, growers shouldn’t be using it in the first place. (Although the drug is classified as having "low acute toxicity," workers exposed to it have reported everything from nausea and eye irritation to abdominal pain and vomiting, and studies in rats show it could have long-term effects on reproductive systems.)
But even Jennemann isn’t totally satisfied with the proposed regulations. For one, when testing is regulated on the parts-per-billion level, it can detect pesticides that were present in the product not just weeks but months before production. This can pose a huge issue for even the greenest of companies, since they often buy genetics or do collaborations with other growers and can as a result be penalized for a poison that was never applied by them.
With a Jan. 1 rollout looming, Alex Traverso, chief of communications at the Bureau of Medical Cannabis Regulation, said that these testing requirements are not set in stone. The state is withdrawing the proposed medical regulations and reworking guidelines that combine both medical and adult-use industries, as dictated by SB 94. While California will certainly have some of the “more stringent testing standards of any state that’s legalized thus far,” Traverso said they’re trying to protect consumers while minimizing financial burden on producers.
“All along we recognize that the overall goal here in terms of legalizing and regulating the industry is to do as much as you can to eliminate the black market, and you don’t do that if you make things cost-prohibitive,” he said.
http://420intel.com/articles/2017/08/15 ... d-industry
Re: News in English 2017
Cannabix: Capitalize on Pent-Up Demand for Cannabis Breathalyzer
Drug-impaired driving is a growing problem as the United States and Canada continue down a path toward legalizing medical and recreational cannabis. Without a reliable roadside breathalyzer, law enforcement officials are limited to pushing for invasive blood work or simply relying on public education programs to curb the problem. The good news is that Cannabix Technologies is rapidly developing a breathalyzer solution to address these concerns.
In this article, we will take a look at Cannabix Technologies Inc. (CSE: BLO) (OTC Pink: BLOZF) and its upcoming marijuana breathalyzer designed to help law enforcement detect the presence of tetrahydrocannabinol (“THC”) at roadside and ultimately prosecute offenders.
Growing Problem
Drug-impaired driving is a growing problem throughout North America. According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), drugs were present in 43% of fatally-injured drivers with known test results, more frequently than alcohol was present. Roadside surveys confirmed these trends with 22% of drivers testing positive for some drug or medication, including 12.1-15.2% testing positive for illicit drugs like marijuana.
In experimental settings, marijuana impairs psychomotor skills and cognitive functions associated with driving, including vigilance, time and distance perception, lane tracking, motor coordination, divided attention tasks, and reaction time. Drivers may also attempt to compensate by driving more slowly and increasing their following distance, which can cause many different traffic problems, including traffic delays and ancillary crashes.
Crash risks are best estimated with epidemiological studies that use real-world data and control for other factors like time of day or the driver’s age. These studies have shown a 25% to 36% increase in crash risk, while the National Academy of Sciences concluded that there is “substantial evidence” of a statistical association between cannabis use and increased risk of motor vehicle crashes after a comprehensive review of studies.
Lawmakers Worried
Many lawmakers are concerned about drugged driving given the increasing prevalence and lack tools to detect and prosecute offenders. In addition to the lack of a roadside tools, marijuana’s impact on driving performance depends on an individual metabolism and other factors, which makes it difficult to prove impairment in court. So-called driving while under the influence of drugs (DUID) laws also tend to vary widely between jurisdictions.
In the United States, Massachusetts officials promised to crack down on marijuana-impaired driving as the state prepares for recreational legalization. State police announced plans to increase the number of officers with special training to detect whether motorists are under the influence of THC. And officials unveiled a public education media campaign aimed at young adults to convey the risks associated with driving while high.
In Canada, many provincial governors are similarly concerned about the upcoming nationwide recreational legalization. Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister is rallying support to demand the federal government put its plans on hold until effective solutions are found for drug-impaired driving. Mr. Pallister insists that provinces need more time to ensure proper roadside testing is in place to keep drug-impaired drivers off the roads and educate the public.
Cannabix’s Solution
Cannabix Technologies is developing a cannabis breathalyzer based on mass spectrometry. Using its patented FAIMS technology, the device incorporates real-time breath analysis for the detection of THC in human breath.
In late-July, the company announced development of its Beta 3.0 marijuana breathalyzer that will include a conventional rechargeable battery, improved ion flow, and the latest pulse driver chips to improve resolution and sensitivity. The new design also includes a heat exchanger technology to stabilize breath temperature; an improved dielectric barrier discharge ionization source; and, a high-voltage square wave generator that offers superior voltage shielding.
The company will initiate scientific trials in Vancouver and other locations in the near-term. In late May, the company added Dr. David Hasman to its scientific team to help with testing in Vancouver. Development testing has shown the successful detection and identification of THC, in relation to the subject’s background matrix in real-time (THC being the psychoactive component of marijuana), and related metabolites, which could enable law enforcement to zero in on impairment with unparalleled ‘recency of use’.
Looking Ahead
Cannabix Technologies Inc. (CSE: BLO) (OTC Pink: BLOZF) is well-positioned to capitalize on the strong pent-up demand for a marijuana breathalyzer device. With medical and recreational legalization sweeping North America, politicians and law enforcement have become increasingly concerned with a sharp increase in impaired drivers and related fatalities. The Cannabix Marijuana Breathalyzer would be an ideal point of care solution for law enforcement and employers alike.
For more information, visit the company’s website at http://www.cannabixtechnologies.com or CannabisFN’s company profile.
http://420intel.com/articles/2017/08/14 ... eathalyzer
Drug-impaired driving is a growing problem as the United States and Canada continue down a path toward legalizing medical and recreational cannabis. Without a reliable roadside breathalyzer, law enforcement officials are limited to pushing for invasive blood work or simply relying on public education programs to curb the problem. The good news is that Cannabix Technologies is rapidly developing a breathalyzer solution to address these concerns.
In this article, we will take a look at Cannabix Technologies Inc. (CSE: BLO) (OTC Pink: BLOZF) and its upcoming marijuana breathalyzer designed to help law enforcement detect the presence of tetrahydrocannabinol (“THC”) at roadside and ultimately prosecute offenders.
Growing Problem
Drug-impaired driving is a growing problem throughout North America. According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), drugs were present in 43% of fatally-injured drivers with known test results, more frequently than alcohol was present. Roadside surveys confirmed these trends with 22% of drivers testing positive for some drug or medication, including 12.1-15.2% testing positive for illicit drugs like marijuana.
In experimental settings, marijuana impairs psychomotor skills and cognitive functions associated with driving, including vigilance, time and distance perception, lane tracking, motor coordination, divided attention tasks, and reaction time. Drivers may also attempt to compensate by driving more slowly and increasing their following distance, which can cause many different traffic problems, including traffic delays and ancillary crashes.
Crash risks are best estimated with epidemiological studies that use real-world data and control for other factors like time of day or the driver’s age. These studies have shown a 25% to 36% increase in crash risk, while the National Academy of Sciences concluded that there is “substantial evidence” of a statistical association between cannabis use and increased risk of motor vehicle crashes after a comprehensive review of studies.
Lawmakers Worried
Many lawmakers are concerned about drugged driving given the increasing prevalence and lack tools to detect and prosecute offenders. In addition to the lack of a roadside tools, marijuana’s impact on driving performance depends on an individual metabolism and other factors, which makes it difficult to prove impairment in court. So-called driving while under the influence of drugs (DUID) laws also tend to vary widely between jurisdictions.
In the United States, Massachusetts officials promised to crack down on marijuana-impaired driving as the state prepares for recreational legalization. State police announced plans to increase the number of officers with special training to detect whether motorists are under the influence of THC. And officials unveiled a public education media campaign aimed at young adults to convey the risks associated with driving while high.
In Canada, many provincial governors are similarly concerned about the upcoming nationwide recreational legalization. Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister is rallying support to demand the federal government put its plans on hold until effective solutions are found for drug-impaired driving. Mr. Pallister insists that provinces need more time to ensure proper roadside testing is in place to keep drug-impaired drivers off the roads and educate the public.
Cannabix’s Solution
Cannabix Technologies is developing a cannabis breathalyzer based on mass spectrometry. Using its patented FAIMS technology, the device incorporates real-time breath analysis for the detection of THC in human breath.
In late-July, the company announced development of its Beta 3.0 marijuana breathalyzer that will include a conventional rechargeable battery, improved ion flow, and the latest pulse driver chips to improve resolution and sensitivity. The new design also includes a heat exchanger technology to stabilize breath temperature; an improved dielectric barrier discharge ionization source; and, a high-voltage square wave generator that offers superior voltage shielding.
The company will initiate scientific trials in Vancouver and other locations in the near-term. In late May, the company added Dr. David Hasman to its scientific team to help with testing in Vancouver. Development testing has shown the successful detection and identification of THC, in relation to the subject’s background matrix in real-time (THC being the psychoactive component of marijuana), and related metabolites, which could enable law enforcement to zero in on impairment with unparalleled ‘recency of use’.
Looking Ahead
Cannabix Technologies Inc. (CSE: BLO) (OTC Pink: BLOZF) is well-positioned to capitalize on the strong pent-up demand for a marijuana breathalyzer device. With medical and recreational legalization sweeping North America, politicians and law enforcement have become increasingly concerned with a sharp increase in impaired drivers and related fatalities. The Cannabix Marijuana Breathalyzer would be an ideal point of care solution for law enforcement and employers alike.
For more information, visit the company’s website at http://www.cannabixtechnologies.com or CannabisFN’s company profile.
http://420intel.com/articles/2017/08/14 ... eathalyzer
Re: News in English 2017
A Good Bet: Investing In Canada’s Medical Cannabis Industry
Canadian medical cannabis investment is increasing, as the industry soars to new heights and awaits new cannabis regulations throughout the country
But it can be difficult to know where to invest when so many different companies are vying for the attention of investors. Canadian medical cannabis law and individual medical cannabis company knowledge can help an investors determine the difference between a good investment and a poor one.
The main players in medical cannabis are, of course, the medical cannabis producers or cultivators that grow the medical cannabis product and distribute it across the country to patients. This article focuses on the producers, the most established and safe investments in medical cannabis at the moment (Canada’s medical cannabis health program has been in place for 16 years).
Canada’s Medical Cannabis Laws
Before investing in any industry, it’s important to know as much as possible about how that industry works. Right now, so many investors are trying to get into the medical cannabis game that knowing where to start investing can be tricky.
Canada’s well-regulated, safe, and efficient medical cannabis system prevents most legal issues and disputes before they get started (current dispensary debacle excepted). The Canadian government’s website on the legalization and regulation of cannabis is an excellent resource for information on the legality of medical cannabis. Here are some highlights:
Recreational cannabis is still illegal in Canada, but expected to be legalized with new regulations by summer 2018
Medical or recreational cannabis cannot be sold in dispensaries and compassion clubs legally
Medical cannabis prescriptions must be submitted to a producer and will be mailed to the patient
Patients and doctors do not have to list any reason or ailment to obtain medical cannabis
Medical cannabis patients must fill out this document with their healthcare practitioners
Medical cannabis patients may possess up to 150 grams (6 grams per day or a 30-day supply) based on your healthcare practitioner’s recommendation
All medical cannabis must come from one of 52 licensed producers (you can find the list here)
Patients can cultivate their own medical cannabis
There are a few factors in Canada’s medical cannabis industry that make it ripe for investment; firstly, patients do not need a specific disease or illness to obtain medical cannabis – only a healthcare practitioner’s recommendation on this document.
Secondly, Canada’s medical cannabis industry is well-controlled and established. Third, although home cultivation is allowed, it’s time-consuming and complicated – most patients prefer to obtain medical cannabis prescriptions from a licensed producer (and since dispensaries and compassion clubs are technically illegal, this is safest).
Finally, although recreational cannabis is on the path to legalization, it’s not there yet, and the current producers of legal medical cannabis will certainly have a leg up on newcomers as far as regulation compliance and resources. Now is the perfect time to invest in the Canadian medical cannabis industry, and the following producers are at the top of the heap:
Canopy Growth Corporation
MedReleaf Corporation
Aphria
Aurora Cannabis, Inc.
Cannimed Therapeutics
Namaste Technologies
Will Canada’s Medical Cannabis Stocks Go Up or Down?
As far as recent “tumbles” in Canadian medical cannabis stocks, Small Cap Power’s senior editor Sean Mason noted in June 2017 that uncertainty new cannabis regulations in the works probably caused them. The Canadian government is still deciding on recreational regulations and expects to legalize in 2018, but these decisions are unlikely to affect medical cannabis producers or companies.
Although Mason agrees that new industries like medical cannabis in Canada can be risky, he believes there is a considerable future there and that now may be a “good entry point.” Aurora Cannabis, Inc., has just acquired Pedanios (a successful German medical cannabis import company). In Germany, medical cannabis is handled just like any other medication, and is sold through pharmacies. Germany has full insurance cost-coverage for its medical cannabis patients, as well, and has a population of 80 million.
Canadian medical cannabis investors would do well to start with established producers such as those listed above, and The Motley Fool and Sean Mason recommend investing in Aphria and Aurora Cannabis, Inc.
Aurora Cannabis, Inc., has been acquiring cultivation property at a rapid clip, indicating that it is ready for the opportunities that may come its way in 2018 or beyond. Aurora Sky, an 800,000-square-foot cannabis production facility, is currently in the works and will generate 100,000 kilograms of cannabis annually while creating and supporting 200-300 jobs in an area the size of 16 football fields. When and if you’re ready, you can invest in any Canadian medical cannabis stocks you choose: Canopy Growth (TWMJF), MedReleaf (LEAF), Aphria (APHQF), Aurora Cannabis, Inc. (ACBFF) Cannimed Therapeutics (CMED), or Namaste Technologies (NXTTF).
http://420intel.com/articles/2017/08/16 ... s-industry
Canadian medical cannabis investment is increasing, as the industry soars to new heights and awaits new cannabis regulations throughout the country
But it can be difficult to know where to invest when so many different companies are vying for the attention of investors. Canadian medical cannabis law and individual medical cannabis company knowledge can help an investors determine the difference between a good investment and a poor one.
The main players in medical cannabis are, of course, the medical cannabis producers or cultivators that grow the medical cannabis product and distribute it across the country to patients. This article focuses on the producers, the most established and safe investments in medical cannabis at the moment (Canada’s medical cannabis health program has been in place for 16 years).
Canada’s Medical Cannabis Laws
Before investing in any industry, it’s important to know as much as possible about how that industry works. Right now, so many investors are trying to get into the medical cannabis game that knowing where to start investing can be tricky.
Canada’s well-regulated, safe, and efficient medical cannabis system prevents most legal issues and disputes before they get started (current dispensary debacle excepted). The Canadian government’s website on the legalization and regulation of cannabis is an excellent resource for information on the legality of medical cannabis. Here are some highlights:
Recreational cannabis is still illegal in Canada, but expected to be legalized with new regulations by summer 2018
Medical or recreational cannabis cannot be sold in dispensaries and compassion clubs legally
Medical cannabis prescriptions must be submitted to a producer and will be mailed to the patient
Patients and doctors do not have to list any reason or ailment to obtain medical cannabis
Medical cannabis patients must fill out this document with their healthcare practitioners
Medical cannabis patients may possess up to 150 grams (6 grams per day or a 30-day supply) based on your healthcare practitioner’s recommendation
All medical cannabis must come from one of 52 licensed producers (you can find the list here)
Patients can cultivate their own medical cannabis
There are a few factors in Canada’s medical cannabis industry that make it ripe for investment; firstly, patients do not need a specific disease or illness to obtain medical cannabis – only a healthcare practitioner’s recommendation on this document.
Secondly, Canada’s medical cannabis industry is well-controlled and established. Third, although home cultivation is allowed, it’s time-consuming and complicated – most patients prefer to obtain medical cannabis prescriptions from a licensed producer (and since dispensaries and compassion clubs are technically illegal, this is safest).
Finally, although recreational cannabis is on the path to legalization, it’s not there yet, and the current producers of legal medical cannabis will certainly have a leg up on newcomers as far as regulation compliance and resources. Now is the perfect time to invest in the Canadian medical cannabis industry, and the following producers are at the top of the heap:
Canopy Growth Corporation
MedReleaf Corporation
Aphria
Aurora Cannabis, Inc.
Cannimed Therapeutics
Namaste Technologies
Will Canada’s Medical Cannabis Stocks Go Up or Down?
As far as recent “tumbles” in Canadian medical cannabis stocks, Small Cap Power’s senior editor Sean Mason noted in June 2017 that uncertainty new cannabis regulations in the works probably caused them. The Canadian government is still deciding on recreational regulations and expects to legalize in 2018, but these decisions are unlikely to affect medical cannabis producers or companies.
Although Mason agrees that new industries like medical cannabis in Canada can be risky, he believes there is a considerable future there and that now may be a “good entry point.” Aurora Cannabis, Inc., has just acquired Pedanios (a successful German medical cannabis import company). In Germany, medical cannabis is handled just like any other medication, and is sold through pharmacies. Germany has full insurance cost-coverage for its medical cannabis patients, as well, and has a population of 80 million.
Canadian medical cannabis investors would do well to start with established producers such as those listed above, and The Motley Fool and Sean Mason recommend investing in Aphria and Aurora Cannabis, Inc.
Aurora Cannabis, Inc., has been acquiring cultivation property at a rapid clip, indicating that it is ready for the opportunities that may come its way in 2018 or beyond. Aurora Sky, an 800,000-square-foot cannabis production facility, is currently in the works and will generate 100,000 kilograms of cannabis annually while creating and supporting 200-300 jobs in an area the size of 16 football fields. When and if you’re ready, you can invest in any Canadian medical cannabis stocks you choose: Canopy Growth (TWMJF), MedReleaf (LEAF), Aphria (APHQF), Aurora Cannabis, Inc. (ACBFF) Cannimed Therapeutics (CMED), or Namaste Technologies (NXTTF).
http://420intel.com/articles/2017/08/16 ... s-industry
Re: News in English 2017
Judge Stops Nevada Department of Taxation From Approving More Recreational Cannabis Distributors
The state must first prove that liquor wholesalers cannot adequately do the job.
Although Nevada marijuana regulators took action last week to issue recreational marijuana licenses to businesses other than the state’s liquor wholesalers, a judge has put a temporary stop to this plan.
According to the Las Vegas Review Journal, Judge James Todd Russell handed down an order last Friday that prevents any business other than the liquor distributors from putting marijuana on the shelves of the state’s 60 dispensaries. The temporary order, which was requested by the Independent Alcohol Distributors of Nevada, suggests that the alcohol industry has been denied due process by the Department of Taxation.
The department must now prove the liquor distributors cannot adequately handle the job before the injunction can be lifted – something that taxation executive Deonne Contine believes has already been accomplished.
“I think the evidence is fairly clear today that this market needs to be opened up,” Contine told the Associated Press. “The capacity of only liquor wholesalers to serve the market seems lacking.”
It was just a month ago that Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval issued a “Statement of Emergency” over a marijuana shortage that took place shortly after the state launched its “early sales” program. Reports shows that some of the dispensaries licensed to sell recreational marijuana serviced 10 times as many customers as they did through the medical sector alone.
However, Judge Russell does not believe his decision to halt additional marijuana distribution licenses will sabotage the market. He says the six booze distributors the state has, so far, given permission to transport marijuana from grow facilities to retail outlets should be enough to hold down the fort while the issue is being sorted out.
The language of the initiative (Question 2) that legalized recreational marijuana in the state of Nevada clearly gives the liquor wholesalers exclusive rights to the distribution of marijuana for the first 18 months. Yet state officials have argued that not enough of these operations are interested in getting involved with the marijuana industry to properly service the market.
During a recent public meeting on the issue, tax officials said that without the involvement of more distributors, the state was destined to lose a significant chunk of change to the black market.
The situation is scheduled to be hashed out later this week, and will make the third time the issue is addressed in court.
http://420intel.com/articles/2017/08/16 ... l-cannabis
The state must first prove that liquor wholesalers cannot adequately do the job.
Although Nevada marijuana regulators took action last week to issue recreational marijuana licenses to businesses other than the state’s liquor wholesalers, a judge has put a temporary stop to this plan.
According to the Las Vegas Review Journal, Judge James Todd Russell handed down an order last Friday that prevents any business other than the liquor distributors from putting marijuana on the shelves of the state’s 60 dispensaries. The temporary order, which was requested by the Independent Alcohol Distributors of Nevada, suggests that the alcohol industry has been denied due process by the Department of Taxation.
The department must now prove the liquor distributors cannot adequately handle the job before the injunction can be lifted – something that taxation executive Deonne Contine believes has already been accomplished.
“I think the evidence is fairly clear today that this market needs to be opened up,” Contine told the Associated Press. “The capacity of only liquor wholesalers to serve the market seems lacking.”
It was just a month ago that Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval issued a “Statement of Emergency” over a marijuana shortage that took place shortly after the state launched its “early sales” program. Reports shows that some of the dispensaries licensed to sell recreational marijuana serviced 10 times as many customers as they did through the medical sector alone.
However, Judge Russell does not believe his decision to halt additional marijuana distribution licenses will sabotage the market. He says the six booze distributors the state has, so far, given permission to transport marijuana from grow facilities to retail outlets should be enough to hold down the fort while the issue is being sorted out.
The language of the initiative (Question 2) that legalized recreational marijuana in the state of Nevada clearly gives the liquor wholesalers exclusive rights to the distribution of marijuana for the first 18 months. Yet state officials have argued that not enough of these operations are interested in getting involved with the marijuana industry to properly service the market.
During a recent public meeting on the issue, tax officials said that without the involvement of more distributors, the state was destined to lose a significant chunk of change to the black market.
The situation is scheduled to be hashed out later this week, and will make the third time the issue is addressed in court.
http://420intel.com/articles/2017/08/16 ... l-cannabis
Re: News in English 2017
United Cannabis Granted Patent for Its Prana Bio Nutrient Line of Cannabinoid Based Products in the United States
United Cannabis Corporation (OTCBB: CNAB) (the “Company” or “United Cannabis”) today announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued US Patent #9730911 (the “Patent”), granting exclusive rights to its proprietary formulations based on compounds extracted from cannabis plant materials; more specifically, the composition of matter pertaining to the use of phytocannabinoids, cannabinoids, and specific terpene profiles in liquid form. This composition of matter patent provides protection for United Cannabis’ proprietary formulations.
Earnest Blackmon, United Cannabis’ Chief Executive Officer, commented on the approval, “This is a significant milestone for United Cannabis. Our primary objective has always been to develop unique and effective cannabinoid based products. This Patent is one the cornerstones of our business plan for obtaining FDA approval.”
Tony Verzura, the Company’s Chief Technology Officer, added “I have spent the last 20 years working with cannabis as a patient, activist, caregiver, and innovator. Our patented innovations enabled our team to utilize chemical-free extractions and infusion methodologies for a wide range of accurately dosed products. These advances have helped us provide relief for thousands of patients suffering from a variety of ailments.”
The patent protects the use of suspending both phytocannabinoids and cannabinoids with specific combinations of cannabis derived terpenes in liquid forms with an array of delivery methods including capsule, sublingual, topical, oral, suppository, and vaporization. Cannabinoids referenced in the application include ratios of tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCa), cannabidiolic acid (CBDa), tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), cannabinol (CBN), cannabidiol (CBD), cannabichromenic acid (CBCa), and cannabichromene (CBCu).
About United Cannabis Corporation
United Cannabis Corporation is a biotechnology company dedicated to the development of phyto-therapeutic based products supported by patented technologies for the pharmaceutical, medical, and industrial markets. The Company has long advocated the application of cannabinoids for medical applications and is building a platform for designing targeted therapies to increase the quality of life for patients around the world. The Company’s products are patent protected, first in class medicines with applications to a global market. United Cannabis trades on the OTCQB under the symbol CNAB.
http://420intel.com/articles/2017/08/16 ... noid-based
United Cannabis Corporation (OTCBB: CNAB) (the “Company” or “United Cannabis”) today announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued US Patent #9730911 (the “Patent”), granting exclusive rights to its proprietary formulations based on compounds extracted from cannabis plant materials; more specifically, the composition of matter pertaining to the use of phytocannabinoids, cannabinoids, and specific terpene profiles in liquid form. This composition of matter patent provides protection for United Cannabis’ proprietary formulations.
Earnest Blackmon, United Cannabis’ Chief Executive Officer, commented on the approval, “This is a significant milestone for United Cannabis. Our primary objective has always been to develop unique and effective cannabinoid based products. This Patent is one the cornerstones of our business plan for obtaining FDA approval.”
Tony Verzura, the Company’s Chief Technology Officer, added “I have spent the last 20 years working with cannabis as a patient, activist, caregiver, and innovator. Our patented innovations enabled our team to utilize chemical-free extractions and infusion methodologies for a wide range of accurately dosed products. These advances have helped us provide relief for thousands of patients suffering from a variety of ailments.”
The patent protects the use of suspending both phytocannabinoids and cannabinoids with specific combinations of cannabis derived terpenes in liquid forms with an array of delivery methods including capsule, sublingual, topical, oral, suppository, and vaporization. Cannabinoids referenced in the application include ratios of tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCa), cannabidiolic acid (CBDa), tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), cannabinol (CBN), cannabidiol (CBD), cannabichromenic acid (CBCa), and cannabichromene (CBCu).
About United Cannabis Corporation
United Cannabis Corporation is a biotechnology company dedicated to the development of phyto-therapeutic based products supported by patented technologies for the pharmaceutical, medical, and industrial markets. The Company has long advocated the application of cannabinoids for medical applications and is building a platform for designing targeted therapies to increase the quality of life for patients around the world. The Company’s products are patent protected, first in class medicines with applications to a global market. United Cannabis trades on the OTCQB under the symbol CNAB.
http://420intel.com/articles/2017/08/16 ... noid-based
Re: News in English 2017
No One Has Applied to Grow or Dispense Marijuana in Arkansas
After Arkansas legalized medical marijuana last fall, the state government created a deadline this September for people to apply to grow and dispense cannabis products. But according to the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration, the state's received zero applications to do either thing, creating doubt about the future of the state's industry.
The state originally planned to award five licenses for marijuana cultivation and 32 licenses for dispensaries. According to regulations set up for the industry, cannabis growers must be 3,000 feet from churches, schools or daycares and dispensaries must be 1,500 feet. Officials for the state say they believe applicants are simply working hard on their paperwork to ensure they're accepted and expect they'll receive applications before the September 18th deadline.
There's also a shortage of people applying for marijuana ID cards that would allow people to use medicinal cannabis products. The state predicted that 30,000 people would apply for the state's medical marijuana program, but as of last week only 400 people had registered for the program.
"This number was based on population, types of qualifying conditions, and trends in other states," Arkansas' Director of Health Communications Marisha DiCarlo said. "At this time, it is too early in the process to know if that number will be reached, since usable, legally obtained Arkansas marijuana is not yet available in the state."
Perhaps once the state's medical marijuana industry actually begins, their will be renewed interest from the people. But so far, Arkansas' medical marijuana industry has hardly been the success that many expected.
http://420intel.com/articles/2017/08/16 ... a-arkansas
After Arkansas legalized medical marijuana last fall, the state government created a deadline this September for people to apply to grow and dispense cannabis products. But according to the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration, the state's received zero applications to do either thing, creating doubt about the future of the state's industry.
The state originally planned to award five licenses for marijuana cultivation and 32 licenses for dispensaries. According to regulations set up for the industry, cannabis growers must be 3,000 feet from churches, schools or daycares and dispensaries must be 1,500 feet. Officials for the state say they believe applicants are simply working hard on their paperwork to ensure they're accepted and expect they'll receive applications before the September 18th deadline.
There's also a shortage of people applying for marijuana ID cards that would allow people to use medicinal cannabis products. The state predicted that 30,000 people would apply for the state's medical marijuana program, but as of last week only 400 people had registered for the program.
"This number was based on population, types of qualifying conditions, and trends in other states," Arkansas' Director of Health Communications Marisha DiCarlo said. "At this time, it is too early in the process to know if that number will be reached, since usable, legally obtained Arkansas marijuana is not yet available in the state."
Perhaps once the state's medical marijuana industry actually begins, their will be renewed interest from the people. But so far, Arkansas' medical marijuana industry has hardly been the success that many expected.
http://420intel.com/articles/2017/08/16 ... a-arkansas
Re: News in English 2017
Algae.Tec to Plant First Batch of Medicinal Cannabis in Uruguay
The 10-acre crop is estimated to yield circa 1000kg of oils, seed extracts and fibre products.
Algae.Tec Ltd (ASX:AEB) is planning to plant the first batch of medicinal cannabis crop in Uruguay this September as part of its research and collaboration agreement with Winter Garden Biosciences.
The companies are developing an initial crop of active heirloom cannabis, without genetically altered structures and with naturally high levels of cannabinoids.
The crop will be planted over 10 acres commencing September 2017, which marks the beginning of the spring growing season in Uruguay.
Algae.Tec will grow, harvest, extract products and sell these unique plants that can be used to create new high potency cannabidiol products in Winter Garden’s Uruguayan laboratories.
The company could also generate immediate revenue through sales of seeds, oils, combined algae products and hemp fibre to the North American and European markets.
These genetically unaltered cannabis plants require fewer pesticides, herbicides and fertilisation than nearly all of their genetically modified counterpart varieties found in North America.
Uruguay is the only jurisdiction in the world that currently allows commercial registration of cannabis cultivation without the cumbersome restrictions on THC and cannabiniod content.
This is expected to be a key difference in Algae.Tec’s position in the medicinal cannabis market moving forward through its collaboration with Winter Garden.
The initial 10-acre grow out programme can be expanded to circa 150 acres at Winter Garden’s existing facilities, including outdoor crops, greenhouse crops and indoor crops.
Significantly, winter Garden has access to over 1,000 acres of arable land that can rapidly be deployed as the companies move to commercial scale operations.
Earlier this month, Algae.Tec received firm commitments to raise A$5.4mln under a rights issue and shortfall placement.
http://420intel.com/articles/2017/08/15 ... is-uruguay
The 10-acre crop is estimated to yield circa 1000kg of oils, seed extracts and fibre products.
Algae.Tec Ltd (ASX:AEB) is planning to plant the first batch of medicinal cannabis crop in Uruguay this September as part of its research and collaboration agreement with Winter Garden Biosciences.
The companies are developing an initial crop of active heirloom cannabis, without genetically altered structures and with naturally high levels of cannabinoids.
The crop will be planted over 10 acres commencing September 2017, which marks the beginning of the spring growing season in Uruguay.
Algae.Tec will grow, harvest, extract products and sell these unique plants that can be used to create new high potency cannabidiol products in Winter Garden’s Uruguayan laboratories.
The company could also generate immediate revenue through sales of seeds, oils, combined algae products and hemp fibre to the North American and European markets.
These genetically unaltered cannabis plants require fewer pesticides, herbicides and fertilisation than nearly all of their genetically modified counterpart varieties found in North America.
Uruguay is the only jurisdiction in the world that currently allows commercial registration of cannabis cultivation without the cumbersome restrictions on THC and cannabiniod content.
This is expected to be a key difference in Algae.Tec’s position in the medicinal cannabis market moving forward through its collaboration with Winter Garden.
The initial 10-acre grow out programme can be expanded to circa 150 acres at Winter Garden’s existing facilities, including outdoor crops, greenhouse crops and indoor crops.
Significantly, winter Garden has access to over 1,000 acres of arable land that can rapidly be deployed as the companies move to commercial scale operations.
Earlier this month, Algae.Tec received firm commitments to raise A$5.4mln under a rights issue and shortfall placement.
http://420intel.com/articles/2017/08/15 ... is-uruguay
Re: News in English 2017
You Can Now Get High Just Drinking Water
Here's a prediction: In 20 years, most of the people consuming weed will be doing so without touching anything that looks remotely like cannabis. People will be taking little pills filled with microdoses of THC, nursing homes will be full of people rubbing pot lotions on their arthritic hands, restaurants will be serving desserts infused with weed alongside a cognac digestif, and it will be harder and harder to find someone who wants to split a bowl with you.
After all, pot smokers are still a minority of the country. Most people are turned off by the idea of inhaling smoke or vapor into their lungs. But if the legal weed industry is able to convince weed-shy folks to try pot without the smoke, it will considerably increase the market's size.
Enter PEARL2O, a brand-new product in Washington's legal market that might be the furthest thing from pot that can still get you high.
It's a mineral water that doesn't smell or taste like pot in any way. You can do almost anything to PEARL2O, and it will still get you high. The water can be frozen into ice cubes, it can be blended into a smoothie, and it can even be boiled while retaining the active THC and CBD, which is how I ended up getting high off instant ramen.
It was easy, really. I just snagged a bottle of PEARL2O infused with 50 milligrams of THC and 50 milligrams of CBD ($30 suggested retail price according to LemonHaze.com) and poured about six ounces into a saucepan. The bottle said that would be 20 milligrams of both THC and CBD, which in edible form usually gets me medium high.
The mineral water, which has a milky white color, started to boil—I mixed in my trusted packet of ramen seasoning and then plopped in the square of noodles. The broth tasted like normal beef ramen but with a bit of a chalky aftertaste, though I couldn't taste anything remotely like cannabis in it.
I left my kitchen and headed to Ballard to meet up with some friends—and within about 30 minutes, I started to feel the warm sensation of a body high. I could feel my heart sending blood in pulses through my entire body. As I walked down Market Street, I started to laugh at the constant stream of dogs and their owners: the absurd wrinkled grin of a bulldog, the crouched hips of an all-white German shepherd that looked like a member of the Stark family, a tiny black Chihuahua that probably didn't weigh a pound. Was I high? I think I was high. Which led me to wonder: How did all of that THC get infused into PEARL2O?
Most edibles are based on a fat solvent, because THC is highly soluble in fat, but there didn't appear to be any oils in the mineral water. The makers of PEARL2O didn't want to disclose the specifics of how the mineral water was made, so I reached out to Shanel Lindsay, a cannabis entrepreneur and lawyer in Massachusetts who, in addition to helping write the initiative that legalized pot in that state, has more than a decade of industrial experience with pot edibles.
Lindsay told me that PEARL2O was probably made with a machine that uses ultrasound waves to combine a distilled cannabis concentrate with water. This same process is already being used by a number of other companies to make weed waters in other states, although most of those waters have CBD but not THC in them.
"The ultrasonic emulsification actually breaks down the molecule so it becomes very tiny—with ultrasonic, you are really changing the chemical structure of that material," Lindsay said.
Lindsay said this ultrasound emulsification method also reduces the flavor of cannabis in the final product—which accounts for how I was getting high without ever tasting a terpene or any pot flavor. PEARL2O isn't the first product to give users a way to consume cannabis without tasting or touching anything that resembles pot, but its mineral-water design makes it one of the subtlest I have found.
http://420intel.com/articles/2017/08/16 ... king-water
Here's a prediction: In 20 years, most of the people consuming weed will be doing so without touching anything that looks remotely like cannabis. People will be taking little pills filled with microdoses of THC, nursing homes will be full of people rubbing pot lotions on their arthritic hands, restaurants will be serving desserts infused with weed alongside a cognac digestif, and it will be harder and harder to find someone who wants to split a bowl with you.
After all, pot smokers are still a minority of the country. Most people are turned off by the idea of inhaling smoke or vapor into their lungs. But if the legal weed industry is able to convince weed-shy folks to try pot without the smoke, it will considerably increase the market's size.
Enter PEARL2O, a brand-new product in Washington's legal market that might be the furthest thing from pot that can still get you high.
It's a mineral water that doesn't smell or taste like pot in any way. You can do almost anything to PEARL2O, and it will still get you high. The water can be frozen into ice cubes, it can be blended into a smoothie, and it can even be boiled while retaining the active THC and CBD, which is how I ended up getting high off instant ramen.
It was easy, really. I just snagged a bottle of PEARL2O infused with 50 milligrams of THC and 50 milligrams of CBD ($30 suggested retail price according to LemonHaze.com) and poured about six ounces into a saucepan. The bottle said that would be 20 milligrams of both THC and CBD, which in edible form usually gets me medium high.
The mineral water, which has a milky white color, started to boil—I mixed in my trusted packet of ramen seasoning and then plopped in the square of noodles. The broth tasted like normal beef ramen but with a bit of a chalky aftertaste, though I couldn't taste anything remotely like cannabis in it.
I left my kitchen and headed to Ballard to meet up with some friends—and within about 30 minutes, I started to feel the warm sensation of a body high. I could feel my heart sending blood in pulses through my entire body. As I walked down Market Street, I started to laugh at the constant stream of dogs and their owners: the absurd wrinkled grin of a bulldog, the crouched hips of an all-white German shepherd that looked like a member of the Stark family, a tiny black Chihuahua that probably didn't weigh a pound. Was I high? I think I was high. Which led me to wonder: How did all of that THC get infused into PEARL2O?
Most edibles are based on a fat solvent, because THC is highly soluble in fat, but there didn't appear to be any oils in the mineral water. The makers of PEARL2O didn't want to disclose the specifics of how the mineral water was made, so I reached out to Shanel Lindsay, a cannabis entrepreneur and lawyer in Massachusetts who, in addition to helping write the initiative that legalized pot in that state, has more than a decade of industrial experience with pot edibles.
Lindsay told me that PEARL2O was probably made with a machine that uses ultrasound waves to combine a distilled cannabis concentrate with water. This same process is already being used by a number of other companies to make weed waters in other states, although most of those waters have CBD but not THC in them.
"The ultrasonic emulsification actually breaks down the molecule so it becomes very tiny—with ultrasonic, you are really changing the chemical structure of that material," Lindsay said.
Lindsay said this ultrasound emulsification method also reduces the flavor of cannabis in the final product—which accounts for how I was getting high without ever tasting a terpene or any pot flavor. PEARL2O isn't the first product to give users a way to consume cannabis without tasting or touching anything that resembles pot, but its mineral-water design makes it one of the subtlest I have found.
http://420intel.com/articles/2017/08/16 ... king-water
Re: News in English 2017
Cannabis States Try to Curb Smuggling, Fend off Administration
Well before Oregon legalized marijuana, its verdant, wet forests made it an ideal place for growing the drug, which often ended up being funneled out of the state for big money. Now, officials suspect cannabis grown legally in Oregon and other states is also being smuggled out, and the trafficking is putting America’s multibillion-dollar marijuana industry at risk.
In response, pot-legal states are trying to clamp down on “diversion” even as U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions presses for enforcement of federal laws against marijuana.
Tracking legal cannabis from the fields and greenhouses where it’s grown to the shops where it’s sold under names like Blueberry Kush and Chernobyl is their so far main protective measure.
In Oregon, Gov. Kate Brown recently signed into law a requirement that state regulators track from seed to store all marijuana grown for sale in Oregon’s legal market. So far, only recreational marijuana has been comprehensively tracked. Tina Kotek, speaker of the Oregon House, said lawmakers wanted to ensure “we’re protecting the new industry that we’re supporting here.”
“There was a real recognition that things could be changing in D.C.,” she said.
The Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board says it’s replacing its current tracking Nov. 1 with a “highly secure, reliable, scalable and flexible system.”
California voters approved using a tracking system run by Lakeland, Florida-based Franwell for its recreational cannabis market. Sales become legal Jan. 1.
Franwell also tracks marijuana, using bar-code and radio frequency identification labels on packaging and plants, in Colorado, Oregon, Maryland, Alaska and Michigan.
“The tracking system is the most important tool a state has,” said Michael Crabtree, who runs Denver-based Nationwide Compliance Specialists Inc., which helps tax collectors track elusive, cash-heavy industries like the marijuana business.
But the systems aren’t fool-proof. They rely on the users’ honesty, he said.
“We have seen numerous examples of people ‘forgetting’ to tag plants,” Crabtree said. Colorado’s tracking also doesn’t apply to home-grown plants and many noncommercial marijuana caregivers.
In California, implementing a “fully operational, legal market” could take years, said state Sen. Mike McGuire, who represents the “Emerald Triangle” region that’s estimated to produce 60 percent of America’s marijuana. But he’s confident tracking will help.
“In the first 24 months, we’re going to have a good idea who is in the regulated market and who is in black market,” McGuire said.
Oregon was the first state to decriminalize personal possession, in 1973. It legalized medical marijuana in 1998, and recreational use in 2014.
Before that, Anthony Taylor hid his large cannabis crop from aerial surveillance under a forest canopy east of Portland, and tended it when there was barely enough light to see.
“In those days, marijuana was REALLY illegal,” said Taylor, now a licensed marijuana processor and lobbyist. “If you got caught growing the amounts we were growing, you were going to go to prison for a number of years.”
Taylor believes it’s easier to grow illegally now because authorities lack the resources to sniff out every operation. And growers who sell outside the state can earn thousands of dollars per pound, he said.
Still, it’s hard to say if cannabis smuggling has gotten worse in Oregon, or how much of the marijuana leaving the state filters out from the legal side.
Chris Gibson, executive director of the federally funded Oregon-Idaho High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program, said the distinction matters less than the fact that marijuana continues to leave Oregon on planes, trains and automobiles, and through the mail.
“None is supposed to leave, so it’s an issue,” Gibson told The Associated Press. “That should be a primary concern to state leadership.”
“Marijuana has left Oregon for decades. What's different is that now we have better mechanisms to try to control it.”
US Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR)
On a recent morning, Billy Williams, the U.S. attorney in Oregon, sat at his desk in his office overlooking downtown Portland, a draft Oregon State Police report in front of him. Oregon produces between 132 tons (120 metric tons) and 900 tons (816 metric tons) more marijuana than what Oregonians can conceivably consume, the report said, using statistics from the legal industry and estimates of illicit grows. It identified Oregon as an “epicenter of cannabis production” and quoted an academic as saying three to five times the amount of cannabis that’s consumed in Oregon leaves the state.
Sessions himself cited the report in a July 24 letter to Oregon’s governor. In it, Sessions asked Brown to explain how Oregon would address the report’s “serious findings.”
Pete Gendron, a licensed marijuana grower who advised state regulators on compliance and enforcement, said the reports’ numbers are guesswork, and furthermore are outdated because they don’t take into account the marijuana now being sold in Oregon’s legal recreational market.
A U.S. Justice Department task force recently said the Cole Memorandum , which restricts federal marijuana law enforcement in states where marijuana is legal, should be reevaluated to see if it should be changed.
The governors of Oregon, Colorado, Washington and Alaska — where both medical and recreational marijuana are legal — wrote to Sessions and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin in April, warning altering the memorandum “would divert existing marijuana product into the black market and increase dangerous activity in both our states and our neighboring states.”
But less than a month later, Sessions wrote to congressional leaders criticizing the federal government’s hands-off approach to medical marijuana, and citing a Colorado case in which a medical marijuana licensee shipped cannabis out of state.
In his letter, Sessions opposed an amendment by Oregon Democratic Rep. Earl Blumenauer and California Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher that prevents the Justice Department from interfering with states’ medical marijuana. Congress is weighing renewing the amendment for the next fiscal year.
In a phone interview from Washington, Blumenauer said the attorney general is “out of step” with most members of Congress, who have become more supportive “of ending the failed prohibition on marijuana.”
“Marijuana has left Oregon for decades,” Blumenauer said. “What’s different is that now we have better mechanisms to try to control it.”
Taylor believes cannabis smuggling will continue because of the profit incentive, which will end only if the drug is legalized across America. U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, a New Jersey Democrat, introduced a bill in Congress on Aug. 1 to do just that.
http://420intel.com/articles/2017/08/15 ... nistration
Well before Oregon legalized marijuana, its verdant, wet forests made it an ideal place for growing the drug, which often ended up being funneled out of the state for big money. Now, officials suspect cannabis grown legally in Oregon and other states is also being smuggled out, and the trafficking is putting America’s multibillion-dollar marijuana industry at risk.
In response, pot-legal states are trying to clamp down on “diversion” even as U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions presses for enforcement of federal laws against marijuana.
Tracking legal cannabis from the fields and greenhouses where it’s grown to the shops where it’s sold under names like Blueberry Kush and Chernobyl is their so far main protective measure.
In Oregon, Gov. Kate Brown recently signed into law a requirement that state regulators track from seed to store all marijuana grown for sale in Oregon’s legal market. So far, only recreational marijuana has been comprehensively tracked. Tina Kotek, speaker of the Oregon House, said lawmakers wanted to ensure “we’re protecting the new industry that we’re supporting here.”
“There was a real recognition that things could be changing in D.C.,” she said.
The Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board says it’s replacing its current tracking Nov. 1 with a “highly secure, reliable, scalable and flexible system.”
California voters approved using a tracking system run by Lakeland, Florida-based Franwell for its recreational cannabis market. Sales become legal Jan. 1.
Franwell also tracks marijuana, using bar-code and radio frequency identification labels on packaging and plants, in Colorado, Oregon, Maryland, Alaska and Michigan.
“The tracking system is the most important tool a state has,” said Michael Crabtree, who runs Denver-based Nationwide Compliance Specialists Inc., which helps tax collectors track elusive, cash-heavy industries like the marijuana business.
But the systems aren’t fool-proof. They rely on the users’ honesty, he said.
“We have seen numerous examples of people ‘forgetting’ to tag plants,” Crabtree said. Colorado’s tracking also doesn’t apply to home-grown plants and many noncommercial marijuana caregivers.
In California, implementing a “fully operational, legal market” could take years, said state Sen. Mike McGuire, who represents the “Emerald Triangle” region that’s estimated to produce 60 percent of America’s marijuana. But he’s confident tracking will help.
“In the first 24 months, we’re going to have a good idea who is in the regulated market and who is in black market,” McGuire said.
Oregon was the first state to decriminalize personal possession, in 1973. It legalized medical marijuana in 1998, and recreational use in 2014.
Before that, Anthony Taylor hid his large cannabis crop from aerial surveillance under a forest canopy east of Portland, and tended it when there was barely enough light to see.
“In those days, marijuana was REALLY illegal,” said Taylor, now a licensed marijuana processor and lobbyist. “If you got caught growing the amounts we were growing, you were going to go to prison for a number of years.”
Taylor believes it’s easier to grow illegally now because authorities lack the resources to sniff out every operation. And growers who sell outside the state can earn thousands of dollars per pound, he said.
Still, it’s hard to say if cannabis smuggling has gotten worse in Oregon, or how much of the marijuana leaving the state filters out from the legal side.
Chris Gibson, executive director of the federally funded Oregon-Idaho High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program, said the distinction matters less than the fact that marijuana continues to leave Oregon on planes, trains and automobiles, and through the mail.
“None is supposed to leave, so it’s an issue,” Gibson told The Associated Press. “That should be a primary concern to state leadership.”
“Marijuana has left Oregon for decades. What's different is that now we have better mechanisms to try to control it.”
US Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR)
On a recent morning, Billy Williams, the U.S. attorney in Oregon, sat at his desk in his office overlooking downtown Portland, a draft Oregon State Police report in front of him. Oregon produces between 132 tons (120 metric tons) and 900 tons (816 metric tons) more marijuana than what Oregonians can conceivably consume, the report said, using statistics from the legal industry and estimates of illicit grows. It identified Oregon as an “epicenter of cannabis production” and quoted an academic as saying three to five times the amount of cannabis that’s consumed in Oregon leaves the state.
Sessions himself cited the report in a July 24 letter to Oregon’s governor. In it, Sessions asked Brown to explain how Oregon would address the report’s “serious findings.”
Pete Gendron, a licensed marijuana grower who advised state regulators on compliance and enforcement, said the reports’ numbers are guesswork, and furthermore are outdated because they don’t take into account the marijuana now being sold in Oregon’s legal recreational market.
A U.S. Justice Department task force recently said the Cole Memorandum , which restricts federal marijuana law enforcement in states where marijuana is legal, should be reevaluated to see if it should be changed.
The governors of Oregon, Colorado, Washington and Alaska — where both medical and recreational marijuana are legal — wrote to Sessions and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin in April, warning altering the memorandum “would divert existing marijuana product into the black market and increase dangerous activity in both our states and our neighboring states.”
But less than a month later, Sessions wrote to congressional leaders criticizing the federal government’s hands-off approach to medical marijuana, and citing a Colorado case in which a medical marijuana licensee shipped cannabis out of state.
In his letter, Sessions opposed an amendment by Oregon Democratic Rep. Earl Blumenauer and California Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher that prevents the Justice Department from interfering with states’ medical marijuana. Congress is weighing renewing the amendment for the next fiscal year.
In a phone interview from Washington, Blumenauer said the attorney general is “out of step” with most members of Congress, who have become more supportive “of ending the failed prohibition on marijuana.”
“Marijuana has left Oregon for decades,” Blumenauer said. “What’s different is that now we have better mechanisms to try to control it.”
Taylor believes cannabis smuggling will continue because of the profit incentive, which will end only if the drug is legalized across America. U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, a New Jersey Democrat, introduced a bill in Congress on Aug. 1 to do just that.
http://420intel.com/articles/2017/08/15 ... nistration
Re: News in English 2017
Nevada's marijuana sales down, product suffering as program 'limps along'
Since Nevada's recreational marijuana program launched in July, sales have dropped 20 to 30 percent as dispensaries struggle to meet the swell in demand, according to a report last week from the Nevada Department of Taxation.
A shortage of businesses able to deliver product to dispensaries has stunted the market, leaving dispensaries with a product selection that's been reduced by more than half, the report said.
Dispensaries insisted that they needed more product faster, and they needed at least nine to 11 deliveries per week with between 12 hours and five days notice. Currently, they're waiting closer to a week to two weeks.
"These (retail marijuana) businesses are struggling without a robust distribution system. Cultivators and producers have product sitting for days waiting to be delivered to stores while the quality of the product degrades. Retailers do not have the products their customers desire, products that are legal and should be available to them," said Deonne Contine, director of the Nevada Department of Taxation, in the report.
The report is based on surveys filled out by more than five dozen marijuana establishments and more than a dozen alcohol distributors, an effort that is the result of an emergency regulation passed last month. It's hoped to put to rest the issue of a distributors' shortage.
The state currently is required to rely solely on alcohol distributors for delivery of recreational marijuana to dispensaries, a mandate that could either be killed or continued on Thursday in a Carson City District Court hearing.
"“I would like to see the issue resolved quickly because it creates uncertainty in this new industry," said Gov. Brian Sandoval in an email to the Reno Gazette-Journal late Wednesday.
Carson City District Court Judge James Russell may determine whether the state's recent report is evidence enough that the state is in dire straits, or he may determine that the alcohol distributors still have exclusive rights to distribution.
Alcohol distributors were given those exclusive rights in the November ballot measure legalizing recreational marijuana, but the state last week determined in its report that there are not enough alcohol distributors qualified for the job at this time.
After passing an emergency regulation last month and releasing the report last week, the state planned to open the application process up to the more than 80 marijuana establishments that have expressed interest in distribution, but Russell asserted that the state had not given distributors ample opportunity to respond to the findings, according to an order filed soon after the report's release.
That means the entire industry will rest on the shoulders of just one distributor for a good while longer.
Crooked Wine is the only fully operational distributor, though six are licensed, largely because it partnered with a medical marijuana distributor, Blackbird, which already has the infrastructure and savvy to understand marijuana distribution. Crooked Wine holds the license, but Blackbird does all of the operations.
Blackbird, which delivers to dispensaries in Reno, Las Vegas and a handful of other areas, currently services 99 wholesalers and makes 100 to 150 deliveries a day, according to the state's report.
Blackbird is delivering to "every dispensary in the state, no joke," said Chad Strand, chief operations officer for the company, noting that company covered more than 10,000 miles in just a few weeks.
"We’re definitely carrying a lot of the weight. We’re happy about it, to be given this opportunity, to get this thing going because there’s such high demand, but everybody wants product and everyone wants it as soon as possible. All of it. Everybody wants everything. It’s all flying off the shelves," Strand told the Reno Gazette-Journal earlier this month.
Blackbird went from six employees to 30 just to meet the demand, the report said, and has been operating with 10 vehicles, though it owns another two and has purchased 10 more.
The company's CEO, Tim Conder, last week said that the state's retail program needs five more distributors of Blackbird's size to meet the current demand.
"The distribution is limping along. The facilities aren’t completely running out," said Riana Durett, spokeswoman for the Nevada Dispensary Association.
Show Thumbnails Show Captions Last SlideNext Slide
Edibles, primarily gummies and chocolate bars, have been running out the fastest, Durrett said, and products that have low levels of the psychoactive component THC also are hot items.
Ultimately, the program's floundering start could lead as well to a budget shortfall since Sandoval budgeted $70 million in state revenue from the fledgling industry over the next two years. The state will not be releasing revenue numbers until late September because businesses don't report their numbers until August.
“I’ve received no information to indicate that revenues have fallen behind original projections," Sandoval said.
Money from the 15 percent cultivation tax on all marijuana product in the state will go toward schools, and the 10 percent tax collected from recreational marijuana upon sale will go toward the state's rainy day fund.
"They aren’t selling as much product and we aren’t collecting as much in taxes. We don’t have any numbers so we can’t quantify yet," said Stephanie Klapstein, spokeswoman for the state taxation department.
Asked whether the state, aside from the distribution issue, had enough marijuana supply to meet the increased demand in Nevada, Klapstein said that there has not been enough delivery of marijuana to the dispensaries to even know at this point if there's ample product to go around.
"Because we’re stuck with a distribution problem, I don’t think we’d even be aware of that yet," she said.
http://420intel.com/articles/2017/08/17 ... imps-along
Since Nevada's recreational marijuana program launched in July, sales have dropped 20 to 30 percent as dispensaries struggle to meet the swell in demand, according to a report last week from the Nevada Department of Taxation.
A shortage of businesses able to deliver product to dispensaries has stunted the market, leaving dispensaries with a product selection that's been reduced by more than half, the report said.
Dispensaries insisted that they needed more product faster, and they needed at least nine to 11 deliveries per week with between 12 hours and five days notice. Currently, they're waiting closer to a week to two weeks.
"These (retail marijuana) businesses are struggling without a robust distribution system. Cultivators and producers have product sitting for days waiting to be delivered to stores while the quality of the product degrades. Retailers do not have the products their customers desire, products that are legal and should be available to them," said Deonne Contine, director of the Nevada Department of Taxation, in the report.
The report is based on surveys filled out by more than five dozen marijuana establishments and more than a dozen alcohol distributors, an effort that is the result of an emergency regulation passed last month. It's hoped to put to rest the issue of a distributors' shortage.
The state currently is required to rely solely on alcohol distributors for delivery of recreational marijuana to dispensaries, a mandate that could either be killed or continued on Thursday in a Carson City District Court hearing.
"“I would like to see the issue resolved quickly because it creates uncertainty in this new industry," said Gov. Brian Sandoval in an email to the Reno Gazette-Journal late Wednesday.
Carson City District Court Judge James Russell may determine whether the state's recent report is evidence enough that the state is in dire straits, or he may determine that the alcohol distributors still have exclusive rights to distribution.
Alcohol distributors were given those exclusive rights in the November ballot measure legalizing recreational marijuana, but the state last week determined in its report that there are not enough alcohol distributors qualified for the job at this time.
After passing an emergency regulation last month and releasing the report last week, the state planned to open the application process up to the more than 80 marijuana establishments that have expressed interest in distribution, but Russell asserted that the state had not given distributors ample opportunity to respond to the findings, according to an order filed soon after the report's release.
That means the entire industry will rest on the shoulders of just one distributor for a good while longer.
Crooked Wine is the only fully operational distributor, though six are licensed, largely because it partnered with a medical marijuana distributor, Blackbird, which already has the infrastructure and savvy to understand marijuana distribution. Crooked Wine holds the license, but Blackbird does all of the operations.
Blackbird, which delivers to dispensaries in Reno, Las Vegas and a handful of other areas, currently services 99 wholesalers and makes 100 to 150 deliveries a day, according to the state's report.
Blackbird is delivering to "every dispensary in the state, no joke," said Chad Strand, chief operations officer for the company, noting that company covered more than 10,000 miles in just a few weeks.
"We’re definitely carrying a lot of the weight. We’re happy about it, to be given this opportunity, to get this thing going because there’s such high demand, but everybody wants product and everyone wants it as soon as possible. All of it. Everybody wants everything. It’s all flying off the shelves," Strand told the Reno Gazette-Journal earlier this month.
Blackbird went from six employees to 30 just to meet the demand, the report said, and has been operating with 10 vehicles, though it owns another two and has purchased 10 more.
The company's CEO, Tim Conder, last week said that the state's retail program needs five more distributors of Blackbird's size to meet the current demand.
"The distribution is limping along. The facilities aren’t completely running out," said Riana Durett, spokeswoman for the Nevada Dispensary Association.
Show Thumbnails Show Captions Last SlideNext Slide
Edibles, primarily gummies and chocolate bars, have been running out the fastest, Durrett said, and products that have low levels of the psychoactive component THC also are hot items.
Ultimately, the program's floundering start could lead as well to a budget shortfall since Sandoval budgeted $70 million in state revenue from the fledgling industry over the next two years. The state will not be releasing revenue numbers until late September because businesses don't report their numbers until August.
“I’ve received no information to indicate that revenues have fallen behind original projections," Sandoval said.
Money from the 15 percent cultivation tax on all marijuana product in the state will go toward schools, and the 10 percent tax collected from recreational marijuana upon sale will go toward the state's rainy day fund.
"They aren’t selling as much product and we aren’t collecting as much in taxes. We don’t have any numbers so we can’t quantify yet," said Stephanie Klapstein, spokeswoman for the state taxation department.
Asked whether the state, aside from the distribution issue, had enough marijuana supply to meet the increased demand in Nevada, Klapstein said that there has not been enough delivery of marijuana to the dispensaries to even know at this point if there's ample product to go around.
"Because we’re stuck with a distribution problem, I don’t think we’d even be aware of that yet," she said.
http://420intel.com/articles/2017/08/17 ... imps-along
Re: News in English 2017
Federal Laws Must Change For A Sustainable Future In Cannabis
Jeff Sessions is not actually the biggest threat to the industry.
In his campaign rhetoric, Donald Trump said flat out that marijuana should be a state by state issue. Then he hired Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who abhors the plant, likening it as only “slightly less awful than heroin.” Sessions has gone against measures to continue limiting the federal government’s ability to interfere in compliant medical marijuana operations and has repeatedly said that the federal government has every right to interfere, regardless of state laws. This has naturally led to a level of anxiety for cannabis activists and anyone else who utilizes the herb. However, Sessions may not be the main problem.
With 29 states having medicinal laws and and nine having gone the full legalization route (with limits, state by state), plus another baker’s dozen having decriminalized the plant, one would think the community would be breathing easy. Yet cannabis remains a Schedule I drug and federally illegal.
Encouragingly, law enforcement doesn’t actually have the people power to crack down on all legal states or interfere in small scale operations. They focus on interstate trafficking and the sale of marijuana to minors, but not on Mr. and Mrs. Doe, who have their four state legalized plants and keep them discrete. Still, pot remains federally illegal. We cannot reiterate this important fact enough.
It doesn’t just mean that theoretically Sessions could come down hard and try and wipe out the programs we’ve put in place, it means that practical matters can’t be addressed and then become dangerous. Perhaps the best example of this is in the world of banking. Because of the federally illegal aspect, banks can’t and won’t work with cannabis businesses, which pulled in over six billion in revenue in 2016. That’s a lot of cash floating around and a lot of trouble that can bubble to the top. Not the least of which is personal safety and potential robberies.
A hanger on from the Obama era of presidency is the infamous Cole Memo, which basically tells Feds to cool their heels regarding state approved medical marijuana facilities and persons and to focus on those bigger issues like smuggling and sales to minors. However, even with the Cole Memo, federal law has the trump card and federal law says cannabis has no medical use and is classified as dangerous a drug as heroin.
In a spark of hope, Congress enacted appropriation riders to keep the DEA from spending its funding on cracking down on medical states. Sessions’ opinions be damned, one such rider was passed in the most recent spending bill that is valid through September 30th.
A bigger threat than even not being able to use a bank and having a cash only business is that possession and distribution of cannabis is also illegal under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). This means that whether or not state law says we can build cannabis houses and smoke them in public, all marijuana activities are illegal and subject to civil RICO suits. And the appropropriations rider is null here.
It seems the only two options that are safe for the cannabis community are federal legalization or the actual letting alone of state’s rights. Though federal legalization is ideal, leaving the laws up to states has many benefits, one of which is the weighing of what works. Each legal and medical state has their own sets of regulations and so far, though they’re all for the most part functioning, there are some sets of guidelines that are working better than others. Some that bring in more taxes and state revenue and some that are simply keeping communities and patients safer.
http://420intel.com/articles/2017/08/16 ... e-cannabis
Jeff Sessions is not actually the biggest threat to the industry.
In his campaign rhetoric, Donald Trump said flat out that marijuana should be a state by state issue. Then he hired Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who abhors the plant, likening it as only “slightly less awful than heroin.” Sessions has gone against measures to continue limiting the federal government’s ability to interfere in compliant medical marijuana operations and has repeatedly said that the federal government has every right to interfere, regardless of state laws. This has naturally led to a level of anxiety for cannabis activists and anyone else who utilizes the herb. However, Sessions may not be the main problem.
With 29 states having medicinal laws and and nine having gone the full legalization route (with limits, state by state), plus another baker’s dozen having decriminalized the plant, one would think the community would be breathing easy. Yet cannabis remains a Schedule I drug and federally illegal.
Encouragingly, law enforcement doesn’t actually have the people power to crack down on all legal states or interfere in small scale operations. They focus on interstate trafficking and the sale of marijuana to minors, but not on Mr. and Mrs. Doe, who have their four state legalized plants and keep them discrete. Still, pot remains federally illegal. We cannot reiterate this important fact enough.
It doesn’t just mean that theoretically Sessions could come down hard and try and wipe out the programs we’ve put in place, it means that practical matters can’t be addressed and then become dangerous. Perhaps the best example of this is in the world of banking. Because of the federally illegal aspect, banks can’t and won’t work with cannabis businesses, which pulled in over six billion in revenue in 2016. That’s a lot of cash floating around and a lot of trouble that can bubble to the top. Not the least of which is personal safety and potential robberies.
A hanger on from the Obama era of presidency is the infamous Cole Memo, which basically tells Feds to cool their heels regarding state approved medical marijuana facilities and persons and to focus on those bigger issues like smuggling and sales to minors. However, even with the Cole Memo, federal law has the trump card and federal law says cannabis has no medical use and is classified as dangerous a drug as heroin.
In a spark of hope, Congress enacted appropriation riders to keep the DEA from spending its funding on cracking down on medical states. Sessions’ opinions be damned, one such rider was passed in the most recent spending bill that is valid through September 30th.
A bigger threat than even not being able to use a bank and having a cash only business is that possession and distribution of cannabis is also illegal under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). This means that whether or not state law says we can build cannabis houses and smoke them in public, all marijuana activities are illegal and subject to civil RICO suits. And the appropropriations rider is null here.
It seems the only two options that are safe for the cannabis community are federal legalization or the actual letting alone of state’s rights. Though federal legalization is ideal, leaving the laws up to states has many benefits, one of which is the weighing of what works. Each legal and medical state has their own sets of regulations and so far, though they’re all for the most part functioning, there are some sets of guidelines that are working better than others. Some that bring in more taxes and state revenue and some that are simply keeping communities and patients safer.
http://420intel.com/articles/2017/08/16 ... e-cannabis
Re: News in English 2017
What Every Cannabis Entrepreneur Needs to Understand About the Cole Memo
The Cole memorandum pops up frequently in media reports and discussions about the legal marijuana industry. This is especially true in recent days, when it appears it could be under attack by the Trump Administration.
But just what is the Cole Memo? Simply put, it’s all that stands between legal adult-use marijuana businesses and getting arrested by federal agents. Consequently, it’s the most important document in the legal marijuana industry.
It’s even more important now. In recent days, Attorney General Jeff Sessions has sent letters to Colorado, Oregon and Washington indicating he believes the states may not stand in compliance with the memo.
Cole Memo Overview
As states began legalization of adult-use marijuana, the federal government under then-President Barack Obama faced a challenge. With states legalizing marijuana, how should the federal government go about enforcing federal laws? Marijuana was, and still is, a Schedule I illegal drug under federal law.
Cracking down on marijuana sales would impede the rights of those who had voted for its use in those states. It also would violate the doctrine of states’ rights. In an attempt at compromise, Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole wrote a memorandum in 2013 calling for the Justice Department to not enforce federal law on marijuana against cannabis businesses operating legally under state law.
However, the memo stands on the idea that states will enact regulatory framework that tracks marijuana from seed to sale. The memo also requires states to work for prevention of:
Distribution to minors
Marijuana profits from going to criminal enterprises
Marijuana being distributed from a legal state to an adjacent state where it’s illegal
Legal marijuana providing cover for the sale of other, illegal drugs
Violence or firearms becoming involved in the marijuana industry
Drugged driving or other negative impact on public health
The growing of marijuana on public lands
The possession of marijuana on public lands
Why it’s a bigger deal now
In recent weeks, Sessions has sent letters to leaders in Colorado, Oregon and Washington asking for detailed reports on how they are adhering to the memo. He also apparently repeated that the federal government plans to enforce laws against marijuana, which he called a “dangerous drug.”
For some, this signals he might be looking at violations of the memo’s “prevention of” section. Meanwhile, the Associated Press obtained portions of a report that a committee formed by Sessions delivered last month.
The Task Force on Crime Reduction and Public Safety apparently developed no new policies for Sessions to implement. According to the Associated Press, the group “largely reiterates the current Justice Department policy on marijuana.”
Given that, Sessions focus on the Cole memo may indicate a new approach. While to this point it’s been all talk, the cannabis industry will continue paying very close attention to Sessions in case talk turns to action.
http://420intel.com/articles/2017/08/16 ... -cole-memo
The Cole memorandum pops up frequently in media reports and discussions about the legal marijuana industry. This is especially true in recent days, when it appears it could be under attack by the Trump Administration.
But just what is the Cole Memo? Simply put, it’s all that stands between legal adult-use marijuana businesses and getting arrested by federal agents. Consequently, it’s the most important document in the legal marijuana industry.
It’s even more important now. In recent days, Attorney General Jeff Sessions has sent letters to Colorado, Oregon and Washington indicating he believes the states may not stand in compliance with the memo.
Cole Memo Overview
As states began legalization of adult-use marijuana, the federal government under then-President Barack Obama faced a challenge. With states legalizing marijuana, how should the federal government go about enforcing federal laws? Marijuana was, and still is, a Schedule I illegal drug under federal law.
Cracking down on marijuana sales would impede the rights of those who had voted for its use in those states. It also would violate the doctrine of states’ rights. In an attempt at compromise, Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole wrote a memorandum in 2013 calling for the Justice Department to not enforce federal law on marijuana against cannabis businesses operating legally under state law.
However, the memo stands on the idea that states will enact regulatory framework that tracks marijuana from seed to sale. The memo also requires states to work for prevention of:
Distribution to minors
Marijuana profits from going to criminal enterprises
Marijuana being distributed from a legal state to an adjacent state where it’s illegal
Legal marijuana providing cover for the sale of other, illegal drugs
Violence or firearms becoming involved in the marijuana industry
Drugged driving or other negative impact on public health
The growing of marijuana on public lands
The possession of marijuana on public lands
Why it’s a bigger deal now
In recent weeks, Sessions has sent letters to leaders in Colorado, Oregon and Washington asking for detailed reports on how they are adhering to the memo. He also apparently repeated that the federal government plans to enforce laws against marijuana, which he called a “dangerous drug.”
For some, this signals he might be looking at violations of the memo’s “prevention of” section. Meanwhile, the Associated Press obtained portions of a report that a committee formed by Sessions delivered last month.
The Task Force on Crime Reduction and Public Safety apparently developed no new policies for Sessions to implement. According to the Associated Press, the group “largely reiterates the current Justice Department policy on marijuana.”
Given that, Sessions focus on the Cole memo may indicate a new approach. While to this point it’s been all talk, the cannabis industry will continue paying very close attention to Sessions in case talk turns to action.
http://420intel.com/articles/2017/08/16 ... -cole-memo
Re: News in English 2017
'Harder to Get Than a Gun': Australia's Medicinal Cannabis Laws Broken, Campaigners Claim
A NSW father will keep breaking the law to get black market medicinal cannabis for his sick son because he claims Australia's newly legalised system is too onerous and expensive.
Former nurse Michael Oakley told nine.com.au medicinal cannabis oil has saved the life of his son, Ben, who suffers from Stiff Person Syndrome, a very rare neurological condition.
Ben's disorder means the 21-year-old suffers acute full body muscle spasms so severe that each seizure can put his life in danger.
He has described the terrible seizures as like having a Taser pushed up against his spine.
The agonising spasms, which raise his blood pressure, pulse and body temperature to extreme and critical levels, can last up to two hours.
Prior to first taking medicinal cannabis oil, Mr Oakley said Ben had suffered more than 600 seizures during a two-year period where no pharmaceutical drugs helped.
In the two years since, Mr Oakley said his son had only endured three short episodes.
But despite being legalised as a medicine by the Federal Government in November last year, Mr Oakley still gets medicinal cannabis for his son from the illegal black market.
Mr Oakley said it took three months to get government approval for Ben's medicine.
And the oil, imported from a Canadian company, would cost $30,000 each year, he said.
"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't pissed off about the current situation," Mr Oakley said.
Mr Oakley instead uses what is known as a compassionate supplier on the black market, a person who makes and provides Ben's medicinal cannabis oil for no charge.
"The government are still making it harder to get medicinal cannabis than to get a gun in this country," Mr Oakley said.
"I don't care about breaking the law for my son. I'll do that to the end of time, because he is my boy."
A spokesperson for the Federal Department of Health told nine.com.au that patients should never use the black market to find medicinal cannabis.
"Patients claiming that they are being forced into a black market are either not seeking medical advice, or ignoring medical advice that a medicinal cannabis product is not suitable for their condition," the spokesperson said.
National figures obtained by nine.com.au show there have been 137 approvals for prescriptions under the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) Special Access scheme since November last year.
The department of health spokesperson said "there is some contention that applying … is too hard and onerous".
Mr Oakley said doctors he had encountered knew little about medicinal cannabis and had been placed in an "impossible situation" by the Federal Government.
Doctors face an overwhelming amount of bureaucracy to prescribe medicinal cannabis, he claimed.
"Most doctors don't have the time to find more information about it," he said.
"And they are not interested in taking it on because of all the drama."
NSW father Craig Goodwin is a former compassionate supplier who spent 10 months in a maximum security prison for giving free cannabis oil to people dying of cancer, including young children with brain tumours.
Goodwin told nine.com.au he was being inundated with enquiries from Australians of all ages - suffering from cancer, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, Parkinson's disease and chronic pain – seeking medicinal cannabis.
"In one fortnight alone I was contacted by 272 people trying to access medicinal oil," he said.
"The governments lack of action and inability to move on this has created a huge hole. People in Australia know this stuff is out there, they want it and they can't get it."
The 52-year-old was critical of what he said was a tiny number of people who had been successfully approved by the government scheme.
"Unscrupulous profiteers" had moved in to take advantage of demand, Goodwin claimed.
Goodwin said opportunist suppliers were now charging $6000 for 60ml of medicinal cannabis oil, which was roughly enough for 20 days.
Two high profile compassionate suppliers, who provided Australians medicinal cannabis for no charge, were raided by police and shut down at the beginning of 2017.
Jenny Hallam, a 44-year-old compassionate supplier from Adelaide, is still awaiting the outcome of her case, where she has been charged with possessing and manufacturing an illegal drug.
http://420intel.com/articles/2017/08/16 ... ners-claim
A NSW father will keep breaking the law to get black market medicinal cannabis for his sick son because he claims Australia's newly legalised system is too onerous and expensive.
Former nurse Michael Oakley told nine.com.au medicinal cannabis oil has saved the life of his son, Ben, who suffers from Stiff Person Syndrome, a very rare neurological condition.
Ben's disorder means the 21-year-old suffers acute full body muscle spasms so severe that each seizure can put his life in danger.
He has described the terrible seizures as like having a Taser pushed up against his spine.
The agonising spasms, which raise his blood pressure, pulse and body temperature to extreme and critical levels, can last up to two hours.
Prior to first taking medicinal cannabis oil, Mr Oakley said Ben had suffered more than 600 seizures during a two-year period where no pharmaceutical drugs helped.
In the two years since, Mr Oakley said his son had only endured three short episodes.
But despite being legalised as a medicine by the Federal Government in November last year, Mr Oakley still gets medicinal cannabis for his son from the illegal black market.
Mr Oakley said it took three months to get government approval for Ben's medicine.
And the oil, imported from a Canadian company, would cost $30,000 each year, he said.
"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't pissed off about the current situation," Mr Oakley said.
Mr Oakley instead uses what is known as a compassionate supplier on the black market, a person who makes and provides Ben's medicinal cannabis oil for no charge.
"The government are still making it harder to get medicinal cannabis than to get a gun in this country," Mr Oakley said.
"I don't care about breaking the law for my son. I'll do that to the end of time, because he is my boy."
A spokesperson for the Federal Department of Health told nine.com.au that patients should never use the black market to find medicinal cannabis.
"Patients claiming that they are being forced into a black market are either not seeking medical advice, or ignoring medical advice that a medicinal cannabis product is not suitable for their condition," the spokesperson said.
National figures obtained by nine.com.au show there have been 137 approvals for prescriptions under the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) Special Access scheme since November last year.
The department of health spokesperson said "there is some contention that applying … is too hard and onerous".
Mr Oakley said doctors he had encountered knew little about medicinal cannabis and had been placed in an "impossible situation" by the Federal Government.
Doctors face an overwhelming amount of bureaucracy to prescribe medicinal cannabis, he claimed.
"Most doctors don't have the time to find more information about it," he said.
"And they are not interested in taking it on because of all the drama."
NSW father Craig Goodwin is a former compassionate supplier who spent 10 months in a maximum security prison for giving free cannabis oil to people dying of cancer, including young children with brain tumours.
Goodwin told nine.com.au he was being inundated with enquiries from Australians of all ages - suffering from cancer, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, Parkinson's disease and chronic pain – seeking medicinal cannabis.
"In one fortnight alone I was contacted by 272 people trying to access medicinal oil," he said.
"The governments lack of action and inability to move on this has created a huge hole. People in Australia know this stuff is out there, they want it and they can't get it."
The 52-year-old was critical of what he said was a tiny number of people who had been successfully approved by the government scheme.
"Unscrupulous profiteers" had moved in to take advantage of demand, Goodwin claimed.
Goodwin said opportunist suppliers were now charging $6000 for 60ml of medicinal cannabis oil, which was roughly enough for 20 days.
Two high profile compassionate suppliers, who provided Australians medicinal cannabis for no charge, were raided by police and shut down at the beginning of 2017.
Jenny Hallam, a 44-year-old compassionate supplier from Adelaide, is still awaiting the outcome of her case, where she has been charged with possessing and manufacturing an illegal drug.
http://420intel.com/articles/2017/08/16 ... ners-claim
Re: News in English 2017
Israel: Erdan Against Exporting Medical Marijuana
Internal Security Minister warns that shipments will be diverted to criminals, after the Health Ministry recommended allowing it.
Israel's Internal Security Minister Gilad Erdan (Likud) is opposed to the Health Ministry's recommendation Monday to allow medical marijuana exports, writing in a letter that the police were not yet able to handle the expected flood of requests. Erdan also warned that cannabis shipments were liable to be diverted to criminals.
"Promoting medical marijuana exports are irresponsible, unprofessional and unwise," Erdan wrote in a letter he fired off to Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon (Kulanu) and Health Minister Yaakov Litzman (UTJ).
"The economic benefit does not justify the severe damages that could be caused by Israel becoming the flagship of cannabis export."
Erdan went on to decry the timing of such a move, writing that "promoting cannabis exports at this stage are problematic, before even examining the implications and ending the regulation of cannabis for medical purposes in Israel."
A special committee recommenced Monday that the state allow marijuana exports for medical and research purposes, deciding that that the export of cannabis should be permitted to in all its medicinal forms, such as smoking products, tablets, and oils.
Minister of Finance Moshe Kahlon praised the recommendations. "Medical cannabis is an industry with significant economic potential for the State of Israel. "It will strengthen Israeli agriculture, and particularly in the Arava region."
http://420intel.com/articles/2017/08/15 ... -marijuana
Internal Security Minister warns that shipments will be diverted to criminals, after the Health Ministry recommended allowing it.
Israel's Internal Security Minister Gilad Erdan (Likud) is opposed to the Health Ministry's recommendation Monday to allow medical marijuana exports, writing in a letter that the police were not yet able to handle the expected flood of requests. Erdan also warned that cannabis shipments were liable to be diverted to criminals.
"Promoting medical marijuana exports are irresponsible, unprofessional and unwise," Erdan wrote in a letter he fired off to Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon (Kulanu) and Health Minister Yaakov Litzman (UTJ).
"The economic benefit does not justify the severe damages that could be caused by Israel becoming the flagship of cannabis export."
Erdan went on to decry the timing of such a move, writing that "promoting cannabis exports at this stage are problematic, before even examining the implications and ending the regulation of cannabis for medical purposes in Israel."
A special committee recommenced Monday that the state allow marijuana exports for medical and research purposes, deciding that that the export of cannabis should be permitted to in all its medicinal forms, such as smoking products, tablets, and oils.
Minister of Finance Moshe Kahlon praised the recommendations. "Medical cannabis is an industry with significant economic potential for the State of Israel. "It will strengthen Israeli agriculture, and particularly in the Arava region."
http://420intel.com/articles/2017/08/15 ... -marijuana
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