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‘This will lead to increased patient access to plant-based medicine and will introduce new patients to the flourishing local medical marijuana landscape’

Saying that cannabis is a panacea would imply that cannabis cures all types of diseases. Even in real life, it’s difficult to find one solution that fixes every problem.

The cure-all cannabis narrative has left many rational humans with unsettling feelings about cannabis legalization. Just Google “cannabis -panacea” and what you’re likely to come up with are a number of rebuttals. If anything, the world is just moving from the prohibition era when cannabis was demonized for being one of the greatest ills in society.

Just as a reminder, here are some legendary Henry Aslinger quotes on cannabis:

With such a past that we are only beginning to recover from, it’s not surprising that any attempt to sanitize the herb is met with the level of fire and fury that it deserves. It doesn’t help that cannabis is still regarded as a compound with “no medical use and a high potential for abuse” under federal law. How then can the same plant be a panacea?

What Is a Panacea?

Merriam-Webster defines panacea as “a remedy for all ills and difficulties.” Saying that cannabis is a panacea would imply that cannabis cures all types of diseases. Even in real life, it’s difficult to find one solution that fixes every problem.

So this panacea narrative automatically comes across as a desperate attempt at marketing snake oils to an unread audience. If anything, such “exaggerated” claims seem to be doing more harm than good to the legal industry, at least superficially. But is cannabis really a “cure-all” remedy and where does such a narrative even come from? Here is a good argument for considering cannabis as the ultimate panacea.

Around 1.3 million women experience menopause in the United States each year.

Although menopause begins between 51 and 52 years old, about 5% of women experience early menopause between 40 and 45 years old, while 1% experience premature menopause before the age of 40.

The most significant symptoms of menopause are hot flashes, sleep problems, low libido, and mood changes.

There are different treatments to manage menopause, including hormonal and non-hormonal therapies. Furthermore, lifestyle changes, such as eating well, exercising, and looking after mental well-being, can help with symptoms during menopause.

But as cannabis has become legally available due to its regulation in many US states for both medical and recreational purposes, some women are consuming it to successfully manage menopause, as a recent study has recently shown.

Researchers from McLean Hospital Imaging Center, Belmont, MA, and Department of Psychiatry, and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, conducted a survey study recently published in Menopause: The Journal of The North America Menopause Society to find out how the use of cannabis affects women with menopause-related symptoms.

In a surprise move, this month President Joe Biden pardoned people convicted of marijuana possession at the federal level – and encouraged state governors to follow suit.

In the same statement, he asked the U.S. attorney general and secretary of health and human services to review marijuana’s classification as a Schedule 1 drug under the U.S. Controlled Substances Act – a change that could have huge ramifications for Florida’s booming cannabis industry.

Federal law currently classifies marijuana as a dangerous substance on the same level as heroin, with no medical benefit. For context, that’s a higher classification than drugs such as fentanyl and methamphetamine (both Schedule 2), which are responsible for thousands of U.S. overdose deaths each year.

Rescheduling marijuana as a Schedule 3 substance or descheduling it altogether could pave the way for cannabis growers and dispensaries to function as legitimate businesses. One of the biggest wins would be the ability to qualify for standard business tax deductions, said Nima Tahmassebi, partner at Perlman, Bajandas, Yevoli & Albright in Coral Gables.

Section 280E of the federal tax code eliminates trade or business deductions for businesses that traffic Schedule 1 or Schedule 2 drugs, including cannabis sellers. That applies even if ventures operate in states where cannabis is legal. 

“That can cause the effective tax rates on cannabis businesses to be extremely high – 40% to 80%, rather than 21%,” Tahmassebi said.

USC students and pro-cannabis groups on campus are hopeful for a renewed perspective on marijuana after President Joe Biden promised to fix the country’s “failed approach” toward the drug.

On Oct. 6, President Biden pardoned thousands of people convicted of simple marijuana possession. The president released a series of Twitter statements justifying the decision and called on local and federal officials to review marijuana-related policies, such as the classification of marijuana as a Schedule I drug. 

“Too many lives have been upended because of our failed approach to marijuana,” Biden wrote in a Twitter post following the pardons. “Today I announced a pardon of all prior federal offenses of simple possession of marijuana, urged governors to do the same, and asked HHS and the DOJ to review how marijuana is scheduled under federal law.”

Biden pardoned prior federal offenders on the basis that people convicted of such offenses may be denied employment, housing or education.

Marijuana advocates at USC applauded Biden’s efforts while pushing for increased tolerance of the drug. Christophe Merriam, a freshman majoring in business of cinematic arts, said he believes the legalization of marijuana is long overdue.

“Nobody is dying from marijuana, and marijuana isn’t a health crisis,” Merriam said. “If you’re really gonna be like, ‘It makes a person lazy or act stupid,’ you can easily say the same thing about drinking, but drinking is so normal and socially acceptable, so that’s just ridiculous.”

BALTIMORE - Members of the Maryland House of Delegates and community members, including retired law enforcement and former Baltimore Ravens player Eugene Monroe, said legalization of recreational cannabis would create new jobs and investment opportunities and save the state money by eliminating the incarceration of thousands of residents annually on marijuana possession charges.

Spearheaded by Monroe’s advocacy organization, Yes on 4, the group urged Maryland residents to vote yes on question four to approve legalization of recreational cannabis when they go to the polls Nov. 8.

“Marijuana sales would create tens of thousands of well-paying jobs.” Monroe said during a press conference in West Baltimore. “It would also open doors for hundreds of new small business owners and create opportunities for workers in other industries, including those in real estate, construction and manufacturing.”

A recent poll by the Washington Post and the University of Maryland showed that 73% of registered Maryland voters support legalization of recreational cannabis.

“The numbers show Maryland residents want to legalize cannabis, because they know it will create good paying jobs and boost the state’s economy,” he said.

Maryland is one of five states that will consider legalization initiatives on Nov. 8, including Arkansas, Missouri, North Dakota and South Dakota. So far, 19 states and Washington, D.C., have legalized cannabis for adults 21 and older.

This ain't your grandpa's weed. 

As cannabis becomes legal in more states in countries, it's a claim heard again and again: Today's marijuana is far more potent than it was in the '60s, supposedly. This week, Patrick Kennedy, a former Congressman from Rhode Island, repeated this assertion, tweeting, "The high concentration of THC in these marijuana products is not what people grew up with." THC is the main ingredient in cannabis responsible for the "stoned" or high feeling some people seek.

Though it might sound like one of many other drug scare tactics, there is some truth to the idea. Marijuana, the processed products of cannabis plants, is getting more potent over time. Thanks to specialized breeding techniques, cannabis can be cultivated to produce 30 percent THC or more — although there is a physical limit to how much the plant can actually spit out.

So how did this happen, and how has weed changed over the years? And does this really make it any more dangerous? 

The botany of really strong weed

Some of the stronger "weed" out there isn't actually weed, but concentrated versions of it — akin to how pure caffeine compares to coffee, or how cocaine is a concentrated version of the psychoactive drug in the coca leaf. To increase potency, cannabis chemists have, over the years, cooked up many different forms of concentrates. Recent concentrated cannabis innovations often involve industrial processing, and include butane hash oil, rosin, shatter, wax and budder. Some of these sticky confections can contain 90 percent THC or more. In June, The New York Times warned that teens are being poisoned by such products, triggering psychotic episodes and dependency.

Some health experts are extremely concerned about this trend, claiming it increases the risk of psychosis and addiction from ingesting cannabis. A recent review in The Lancet Psychiatry found that "higher potency cannabis is associated with poorer mental health outcomes." But the same researchers noted that these studies are prone to bias and have limitations, such as not measuring exposure levels.

If you love crypto or work in the marijuana industry, you need to know about BudBlockz. Here’s how it is changing the landscape in both arenas.

If the last few years have taught us anything, it’s that the line between the physical and virtual worlds is now more blurred than ever. The continued growth of cryptocurrency and its ability to impact real-world landscapes has been particularly noteworthy, and BudBlockz is the latest digital asset to showcase the integration of crypto with other sectors.

In this case, BudBlockz has quickly united the crypto arena with the legal marijuana industry. Given the success that both sectors are currently enjoying, it’s no wonder that interest in the BLUNT token has soared.

A growing community set to change the community

BudBlockz and the BLUNT coin isn’t the first time that a marijuana-related asset has entered the blockchain. However, it is far more than a meme coin. Budblockz is the world’s first decentralized platform specifically geared to support the legal marijuana industry and its community has the potential to change the landscape of this growing sector through an advanced ecosystem that utilizes asset-backed NFTs and fractional ownership to great effect.

The marijuana industry is growing with a CAGR of over 32%, but businesses and consumers continue to face several issues. The private yet secure transactions provided by BudBlockz support dispensaries, farms, and consumers by creating an open 24/7 marketplace in legal jurisdictions. As businesses continue to face banking issues despite the changing legislation, the decentralized blockchain tech that provides instant transactions also highlights how digital currencies and utility tokens can pave the way for a new era.

BudBlockz has further demonstrated the ability to unite different sectors by introducing digital NFTs. At its heart, though, the commitment to supporting the marijuana sector is underpinned by the fact that it sets out to launch its own dispensaries. Meanwhile, members of the BudBlockz decentralized autonomous organization will additionally have a say in future decision-making processes.

Now that recreational marijuana may become legal in Iowa, employers should know how this will affect the workplace and its policies.

This difference may cause immense confusion and complications for employers. For example, federal law still considers marijuana use illegal. THC, the intoxicating chemical contained in marijuana, is a Schedule 1 controlled substance. Congress considers Schedule 1 substances very addictive with no medical value. Today, marijuana is much stronger and contains twenty to twenty-five percent THC compared to the less than two percent THC from the 1970s. 

With this difference in legality, employers find themselves in a complicated situation where they must decide how best to handle marijuana. For example, employers with federal contracts may find they must ban marijuana use. Furthermore, marijuana use can lead to intoxication on the job, causing significant safety issues. These issues may earn disapproval from workers’ compensation, insurance and other liability insurance carriers, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

For now, guidance for determining the difference between recreational and medical use remains minimal, which makes it difficult for employers to restrict marijuana use. This difficulty further complicates policies because Iowa already legalized medical marijuana, joining thirty-six other states with this decision. In this case, Iowa does not provide protections for employees who use medical marijuana from adverse action from employers, though fifteen other states do. However, even in those states that provide protections, the protections generally do not apply to workers who show up to work impaired due to safety concerns.

State and federal courts appear to agree on one issue: whether the Americans with Disabilities Act protects employees using medical marijuana from adverse employment actions. For now, both courts favor employers against these claims. Regardless, it is best to be careful and work with employees to find a reasonable accommodation because this could change.

Employers can also help protect themselves by updating workplace drug policies that include any disciplinary consequences. Also, they should document employee behavior when an incident occurs and obtain signed witness statements.

HARRISBURG — The Independent Regulatory Review Commission voted 4-0 Thursday to approve final regulations for the state’s six-year-old medical marijuana program but not until commissioners spent hours debating a controversial testing provision.

Under the regulations, growers are required to get marijuana material tested twice by two different labs — once at the time of harvest and again after the marijuana has been processed into the product that would be sold in the dispensaries.

Trade groups had strongly opposed the regulation saying that requiring two labs to test the product at different times in the process will accomplish nothing.

In arguing for the need for the use of two labs, Department of Health officials asserted that it will prevent growers from relying on labs that fudge their results.

In other states, there have been allegations that labs have results inflating the amount of THC in the marijuana products.

Judith Cassell, an attorney with Cannabis Law PA, said that using different labs at different stages of the production process won’t shed any light on whether the THC levels detected by the lab tests are accurate. The THC levels may change from the time of harvest to later in the production process. THC is the substance that has an effect on a person’s mental state.

At long last, Germany is moving forward with legal cannabis.

A blueprint of the reform was leaked through RND newspaper group and translated by Politico, stating that cannabis will be decriminalized, allowing for its purchase, possession and cultivation. Any advertising promoting cannabis, however, would be banned.

Under the reported plan, adults will be able to buy as much as 20 grams of cannabis sold in shops. There’s a chance marijuana could also be sold in pharmacies and specialty shops like coffee houses.

Some of the proposed limitations include that cannabis will have a THC limit of 15 per cent. And in the case of young adults, aged 18 to 21, they will be able to buy marijuana with a 10 per cent limit of THC.

The plan also makes it clear that cannabis sold in Germany must be produced domestically, sidestepping any international law issues and avoiding conflict.

While many are reportedly celebrating the country’s decision, several German politicians have voiced concerns that the plan is too restrictive.

The city of Detroit received 90 applications for the 60 recreational marijuana licenses available in the first round, which include licenses for dispensaries, microbusinesses and consumption lounges.

Fifty non-equity and 40 equity applications were submitted by the deadline of Oct. 1, with 28 of the 40 equity applicants qualifying for Detroit Legacy status as well, Kim James, director of Detroit's office of marijuana ventures and entrepreneurship, said Wednesday.

The city will issue a total of 160 licenses in three phases. The 60 licenses that will be awarded in the first phase include 40 retail, 10 microbusiness and 10 consumption lounge licenses. Detroit started accepting applications for unlimited licenses — such as for growing or processing cannabis — in April.

Half of all the limited licenses are set aside for "equity applicants." Equity applicants include people who live in communities that have been disproportionately impacted by marijuana prohibition and enforcement. Equity applicants also include those with certified Detroit Legacy status currently living in Detroit or another disproportionately impacted community.

Detroit has faced multiple legal challenges over this piece of its ordinance. After two lawsuits that challenged the ordinance were dismissed in August, the city moved forward with opening its application process for the limited licenses on Sept 1.

Another lawsuit was filed at the end of last month in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, though. That lawsuit claimed the ordinance gave an unfair preference to longtime Detroiters.

Washington, D.C.'s Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) made a significant move this week for two industries – tourism and cannabis.(Benzinga)

On Monday, Bowser signed a bill that would allow tourists visiting the nation's capital to self-certify as medical marijuana patients without a physician's recommendation. 

The action comes some three months after she signed the Medical Marijuana Self-Certification Emergency Amendment Act of 2022 into law, which allows D.C. residents to self-certify as MMJ patients and buy cannabis from licensed retailers.

Now, the self-certification right is basically extended to non-residents visiting the capital.

Why Self-Certification In The First Place?

Though adult-use cannabis was legalized in Washington D.C. in 2014, a rider that has remained valid throughout several presidential budget proposals has prevented the District from fully exercising its legal cannabis program.

This legislation enables the District to bypass the rider that has prevented D.C. from using its local taxes to implement a system of legal cannabis commerce.

New South Wales, Australia: Terminal cancer patients with refractory pain respond favorably to a proprietary cannabis spray containing equal ratios of plant-derived THC and CBD, according to data published in the journal PLOS One.

A team of Australian investigators assessed the safety and efficacy of a novel water-soluble oro-buccal nanoparticle spray containing 2.5 mgs of THC and 2.5 mgs of CBD in a cohort of patients with advanced cancer and intractable pain.

Researchers reported that cannabis dosing was associated with improvements in pain relief among all patients, with those patients suffering from bone metastasis experiencing the greatest levels of relief. No serious adverse events were reported, though some patients did experience drowsiness following treatment.

Patients also reported improvements in appetite and emotional well-being.

“This study demonstrated that the administration of the investigative cannabis-based medicine was generally safe and tolerated in a short-term exposure in a cohort of patients with advanced incurable cancers with controlled pain or intractable pain despite opioid treatment,” authors concluded. “There was a reduction in pain overall for the study cohort of 12 percent by the end of the treatment phase. … [This] cannabis-based medicine … is of significant clinical interest given that this formulation was a self-titrated medicine, that showed preliminary analgesic efficacy in a subgroup of patients.”

Earlier this month, President Joe Biden released a three-prong plan to fulfill a campaign promise to roll back punishments for people convicted of marijuana possession.

He pledged to pardon everyone convicted in federal or Washington, DC courts of simple marijuana possession; encouraged governors to do the same for those convicted in state courts; and he promised he would ask his Secretary of Health and Human Services to examine rescheduling marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act

As many were quick to note, the plan’s immediate impact will likely be slight, at best. No one is in federal prison on marijuana possession charges, and though the White House said perhaps 6,500 people may have marijuana convictions pardoned, the plan will have little effect for those who also have any state conviction or any other federal conviction. Rescheduling may lead to some improvements in how we treat marijuana, but cocaine and methamphetamine are among the drugs in Schedule II, and both are still subjected to heavy criminalization.

Nor is it likely that marijuana pardons will prove a gateway policy to the broader use of mass pardons and commutations, a practice that was more widespread in the past but has fallen into almost complete disuse. The most likely issue to follow the Biden plan would be relief for elderly people serving life sentences, but the effectiveness with which Dr. Mehmet Oz is attacking Lt. Gov. John Fetterman on his tenure as chair of the Pennsylvania pardon board suggests that clemency has nowhere near the popular support of marijuana policy.

A bigger concern, though, is not just that the policy might accomplish very little, but that it might make things worse for criminal legal reform in the long run because it reinforces a false narrative about the causes of mass punishment in general and mass incarceration in particular. It’s a narrative that shapes—or, better put, misshapes—policy.

Most Americans are deeply misinformed about why people are in prison. A survey in 2017 found that solid majorities across the ideological spectrum agreed with the claim that a majority of people in U.S. prisons are there for drug crimes. That’s a far cry from reality: 14 percent of people in state prisons were locked up for drug offenses at the time, a number that has fallen since then. (Those held in state prisons make up 90 percent of the nation’s incarcerated population.) This misbelief likely contributed to the next two results from that survey: while majorities of liberals, moderates, and conservatives favored lesser sanctions for those convicted of non-violent crimes who posed little risk of reoffending, majorities of all three groups also opposed lesser sanctions for those convicted of violence who likewise pose little risk of reoffending.

Winners of CT cannabis licenses spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to improve chances in lottery.

The businesses that won approval for licenses to grow and sell cannabis in Connecticut spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in total to submit thousands of applications to improve their chances of being selected in the lottery.

The winning applicants for retail and micro-cultivator licenses flooded the lottery system with entries, according to new data from the state Department of Consumer Protection. Take retail licenses as example. SLAP ASH LLC, which lists a business address in Glastonbury, accounted for 850 of the 8,360 applications submitted to the social equity lottery in the initial round, ultimately winning approval for two licenses. 

North Dakota would join 19 states, including Montana, in having legalized recreational pot if voters approve the measure.

Similar ballot questions will appear on ballots this year in four other states, including South Dakota.

President Biden’s move to reevaluate marijuana’s legal status and pardon federal weed convictions has reinvigorated momentum for congressional action to boost the ailing cannabis industry. 

Lawmakers see the lame-duck session as their best chance yet to pass the SAFE Banking Act, a bipartisan measure that would enable cannabis businesses to more easily access banking services and loans. 

The bill — which would be a boon for cash-only dispensaries that are plagued by robberies and exorbitant banking fees — has already passed the House six times in recent years. But it’s stalled in the Senate amid concerns from top Democrats who said it doesn’t do enough to support communities disproportionately harmed by the nation’s drug laws. 

Public pressure is building on Congress to take on marijuana reform, and lawmakers are showing signs of optimism about the prospects of a bipartisan marijuana banking bill that addresses those systemic issues making its way to the president’s desk this year. 

Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-Colo.), who first introduced the bill in 2019, told The Hill on Tuesday that there’s “a lot of activity” around the legislation, which he said some senators have referred to as “SAFE Banking Plus” amid ongoing negotiations.  

Cannabis consumers are increasing across legal states, with polls showing that they’ll soon become the new normal.

Marijuana’s increase in popularity continues to surprise everyone over the age of 18, with a new poll showing that the drug is well on its way to becoming the new normal.

The numbers, reported by a study from the University of Michigan, show that more and more young adults living in legal states are regularly consuming marijuana.

Researchers also share that the jump in numbers is driven in large percentages by women. The study’s data show that this change is a marked departure from the numbers belonging to previous generations, when men were the principal marijuana consumers, or, at least the ones who were open with polls about their cannabis habits.

The Hill spoke with several young adults from states where cannabis is on the ballot in November, who shared why they enjoyed marijuana and why their generation was so open to its use. “It really helps with sleep,” said Allison. “It’s great for stress, anxiety. And my generation has huge anxiety problems.”

Earlier this month, the Biden administration issued a pardon for non-violent cannabis offenses, asking governors and state leaders to follow their lead. Per Biden, one of the main reasons behind the pardons is social justice, hoping to benefit minorities and those who’ve been impacted by the war on drugs.