WeedLife News Network

Lompoc leaders could enact a moratorium on new cannabis businesses in the city amid concerns that a glut in the market is resulting in too much competition.

The request for changes comes from existing cannabis businesses which say there are too many pot shops in a city of just 45,000 people, especially at a time when inflation has dampened demand for cannabis and other non-essential items.

Unlike many other municipalities, Lompoc took a laissez-faire approach to commercial cannabis.

“It would vastly change the current ordinance on the books so we want to be very careful about how we move forward on that,” Lompoc Mayor Jenelle Osborne told KSBY.

The city has issued 46 cannabis licenses with another 16 applications pending.

SANTA CRUZ - SC Labs today announced it has rebranded Agricor, Botanacor, and Can-Lab to become one company under the SC Labs name.

The company now offers seamless testing services for cannabis across California, Michigan, Oregon, and Colorado, as well as hemp testing capabilities nationwide. This represents the first stage of expansion that will deliver significant value to multi-state cannabis operators and large wellness brands in need of streamlined and accurate testing across state lines.

Not long after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision that abortions are not a right covered by the U.S. Constitution, award-winning actress Bette Midler posted to Twitter a doctored picture of a New Mexico welcome sign.

Added to the sign were the words, “We’ve got chile, weed and reproductive rights,” referring to the fact that state lawmakers removed a criminal penalty for abortions and that the state legalized recreational-use cannabis. Hours later, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s reelection campaign jumped on the opportunity and reposted the picture with the added words, “And we’re going to keep it that way.”

If Lujan Grisham’s Republican opponent and former television meteorologist Mark Ronchetti wins the election in November, it’s likely that he will push for a change to the state’s abortion law, but his campaign has said little about whether he would push for changes to the state’s Cannabis Regulation Act. 

Medical cannabis patients and cannabis business owners who spoke with NM Political Report about cannabis and the upcoming gubernatorial election had various views on how each candidate might impact the current law, but most agreed that there is still more work to be done when it comes to the state’s cannabis industry. 

Alyssa Pearson, the chief operating officer of the cannabis company Dr. Green Organics Co., said her business is in the final stages of opening a cannabis retail store in Mesilla Park, in Southern New Mexico. Pearson declined to discuss who she plans on voting for in the upcoming election, but said she hopes lawmakers and the governor address what she sees as needed changes to the current law.  

“At this point, all that needs to be done to kill small businesses like ours is ambivalence,” Pearson said. “I know that that’s something that my business partners and I would never want to do, is vote for somebody who could potentially jeopardize the feasibility of the social equity mission of cannabis, because that’s, for us, such a huge thing. This should be economic development in New Mexico for New Mexicans, and somebody who doesn’t vote for the micro business changes that we’re hoping for, or doesn’t sign that bill into law, jeopardizes our future and in our minds, the futures of other people like us who are using this as a potential stepping stone.”

BARCELONA - Cannabis prescribed for chronic pain is associated with an elevated risk of heart rhythm disorders, according to research presented at ESC Congress 2022.

Study author Dr. Nina Nouhravesh of Gentofte University Hospital, Denmark said: “Chronic pain is a rising problem. According to Danish health authorities, 29% of Danish adults over 16 years of age reported chronic pain in 2017, up from 19% in 2000. Medical cannabis was approved in January 2018 on a trial basis in Denmark, meaning that physicians can prescribe it for chronic pain if all other measures, including opioids, have proven insufficient. Safety data are sparse, hence this study investigated the cardiovascular side effects of medical cannabis, and arrhythmias in particular, since heart rhythm disorders have previously been found in users of recreational cannabis.”

Medical cannabis comes in various formulations depending on tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) levels. Dronabinol (high THC), cannabinoid (more THC than CBD), and cannabidiol (high CBD) can be prescribed in Denmark. The drug can be inhaled, eaten, or sprayed in the mouth.

The researchers identified a total of 1.6 million patients diagnosed with chronic pain in Denmark between 2018 and 2021. Of those, 4,931 patients (0.31%) claimed at least one prescription of cannabis (dronabinol 29%, cannabinoids 46%, cannabidiol 25%). Each user was matched by age, sex and pain diagnosis to five non-users with chronic pain who acted as controls. Users and controls were followed for 180 days and their risks of new cardiovascular conditions were compared.

The median age of participants was 60 years and 63% were women. The study reports, for the first time, the chronic pain conditions of medical cannabis users in Denmark. Some 17.8% had cancer, 17.1% arthritis, 14.9% back pain, 9.8% neurological diseases,  4.4% headaches, 3.0% complicated fractures, and 33.1% other diagnoses (mostly unspecified chronic pain).

The absolute risk of new-onset arrhythmia was 0.86% in medical cannabis users compared with 0.49% in non-users, for a relative risk of 1.74. The risks of new-onset acute coronary syndrome and heart failure did not differ between the two groups. The results were similar for each chronic pain condition and each type of medical cannabis.

In July 2022, the Ukraine's Ministry of Healthcare (MoH) published for public discussion a draft governmental resolution (“Draft Resolution”) aimed at relaxing current cannabis legislation in Ukraine to facilitate medical use of cannabis-based products.

The MoH proposes amending the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers No. 770 (2000), which lists the schedules of controlled psychoactive and narcotic substances.

For several years, regulating medical cannabis has been an important though contested issue on the Ukrainian political agenda. The full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine has only reinforced the importance of this topic since the pool of potential users of medical cannabis (for pain relief, PTSD, etc.) has risen manifold and the tendency does not appear to be changing. The Draft Resolution is the second initiative launched in recent months (alongside draft law No. 7457) that aims to improve the situation.

Here are the Draft Resolution's key proposed changes.

Allowing circulation of cannabis, cannabis resin, extracts and tinctures for medical and scientific purposes

One of the biggest issues surrounding the use of cannabis for medical purposes in Ukraine is the classification of cannabis, cannabis resin, extracts and tinctures as particularly dangerous and fully prohibited under Ukrainian legislation. While there are several cannabis-derived substances for which limited circulation is allowed (e.g. Dronabinol, Nabilone, Nabiximols and CBD isolate), the broad prohibition on the use of cannabis has created legal uncertainty, which has significantly hampered the development of this market. While the Draft Resolution does not reschedule cannabis, cannabis resin, extracts and tinctures, it expressly allows their use for medical and scientific purposes. Medical use is only allowed in the form of medicines or active pharmaceutical ingredients.

Allowing THC for medical and scientific purposes

In another potential positive development, the MoH proposes allowing the use of the cannabis compound THC for scientific purposes, as well as permitting the use of pharmaceuticals containing THC for medical purposes. Currently, Ukraine only allows circulation in the form of medicines of the following substances containing THC: Dronabinol and Nabiximols, as well as Nabilone that mimics the effect of THC. The Draft states that Dronabinol, Nabilone and Nabiximols may also be used for scientific purposes in any form.

Cannabis is such an effective recovery aid that many professional athletes have secretly used cannabis to help them recover, even when it might have cost them their career.

We all know exercise is good for us. But sometimes we forget recovery is just as important. To get back to the activity you love, you need to recover in an optimal amount of time. The body has natural mechanisms of recovery, but with work, kids and social obligations, sometimes life gets in the way and recovery takes a backseat to training. But if you repeatedly exercise without letting your body recover, you can put yourself in a state of overreaching that can negatively affect your mood and energy levels.

In order to find the solution, you need to first identify the problem. Unfortunately, the author of a new USA Today article only managed to identify a symptom of the problem, and failed to see the root of the problem.

It seems that every other week I’m here needing to cannasplain to people who have no idea about cannabis, potency, or any subjective experience with any real drug usage. Recently, USA Today opinion contributor Peg O’Connor wrote an article titled, “Not your grandma’s weed: Why potency limits must be part of any push to legalize cannabis.”

As one would expect, this article is riddled with assumptions, erroneous data, and faulty conclusions. It is my duty as a defendant of sanity to dismantle this hit piece by Peg and teach her the errors of her ways. Let’s jump into it!

The Three Assumptions

Peg starts off by telling us how cannabis has transformed in the public eye and claims that “no drug” had undergone such a transformation. But I’d like to point out that “alcohol” is a drug that had undergone such a transformation not even a hundred years earlier.

There was a time when alcohol was illegal in the United States mainly due to a puritanical movement spearheaded by women – but once prohibition stepped in and regulations went out the door — bootleg liquor became a dangerous thing. In fact, it because so dangerous that it was women who fought to legalize alcohol again. In many cases, the same women who fought to prohibit it years earlier!

Therefore, right off the bat we know that Peg’s knowledge of drug history is probably weak and that she’d be drawing all her data from official sources.

BUCKFIELD - Residents passed the $2.4 million budget and a new marijuana ordinance in Tuesday's Town Meeting referendum vote, but it was not a good day for incumbents.

The town is one of a few municipalities that holds its Town Meeting with a daylong vote by secret ballot instead of a traditional in-person meeting. That method will continue for at least another year as voters passed a question to continue the referendum format by a 127-117 vote, against the recommendation of the Select Board.

Current studies on marijuana for cancer are hopeful, and patients who want to explore using cannabis for cancer are recommended to talk to their doctors.

The big C has a tremendous impact on society and families around the world. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were over 1,750,000 new cancer cases in 2019 alone, and around a third of those patients died from cancer.

Unfortunately, there is still no known cancer cure, though the evolution of medical technology continues to save more lives. But cancer patients, along with their families, still have to face hardships: treatment with side effects, expensive and addictive medications for pain, poor quality of life, and emotional anguish. But perhaps cannabis can make things a little simpler.

Researchers from the Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse sought out to analyze how patients with advanced cancer responded to medical marijuana treatment.

Participants for the study were enrolled in New York’s MMJ registry. “The goals of this study were to review the characteristics of patients who received medical marijuana under our ambulatory palliative care program and to determine barriers to access and use of medical marijuana in this population,” says the study.

“Data from June 2017 to June 2020 were analyzed. Patients were included if they had a diagnosis of cancer, were certified by a qualified practitioner in the New York Medical Marijuana Program, and received care at Upstate Medical University,” it reads. “Patients were excluded if no marijuana certificate was found or if they transferred care.”

IDAHO - A partnership between the University of Idaho and a local company Hempitecture is looking to turn the world a little greener by using hemp as an environmentally friendly building material.

Home insulation made out of hemp is what the University of Idaho's Boise-based Integrated Design Lab is testing right now using a $200,000 state grant to research and compare typical insulation materials to hemp insulation created by Idaho-based company Hempitecture.

With the modification of the Swiss Narcotics Law, which changed the legal status of cannabis, patients can now obtain medical marijuana through a simple prescription from their doctor. (Benzinga)

Starting September 15, Basel City will begin the first Swiss project on the legal sale of cannabis in pharmacies. The project will help evaluate the effects of new regulations on the recreational use of cannabis and combat black market distribution.

The Federal Office of Public Health approved the pilot in April. As a part of the project, the University of Basel, its psychiatric clinics and health department will participate.” Six cannabinoid products – four types of cannabis flowers and two types of hashish – will be sold in nine pharmacies selected by the authorities,” said Lukas Engelberger, health minister.

Cannabis users over 18 can now register to participate, with the number of participants limited to 370. In addition, pharmacies will charge prices around those set on the black market for products with THC content. A gram will therefore cost CHF8-CHF12 ($8.40-$12.60).

The Swiss parliament laid the legal basis for such small-scale initiatives in September 2020. After that, also other local authorities, including Zurich, Geneva and Bern, applied to roll out similar trials.

Legal Prohibition For Adult-Use Cannabis

In 2008 almost two-thirds of Swiss voters rejected an initiative to decriminalize cannabis consumption. Despite a legal ban, the health office estimates there are 220,000 regular consumers of cannabis in Switzerland.

With interstate commerce banned in cannabis, many brands rely on illicit operators to market their products across the country.

By Sarina The annual Hampton Cannabis Expo is expected to draw a crowd this weekend, in part because Long Islanders can see a state-sanctioned path for getting the recreational industry off the ground by 2023. 

Now in its fifth year, the Hampton Cannabis Expo will draw entrepreneurs and investors interested in the marijuana industry, said Neil Kaufman, whose Hauppauge law firm handles corporate cannabis transactions across the nation and is one of the event's sponsors. 

The expo attracted more than 600 people last year, but organizers are planning for a bigger crowd now that COVID-19 is less of a health threat for big gatherings and the state has started rolling out a framework for licensing recreational marijuana firms, Kaufman said. 

"We're expecting attendance to be through the roof. It wouldn't surprise me if there were over 1,000 people there," Kaufman said. "This is an ideal time and place to gather together a huge portion of the industry — and people that hope to be in the industry — to try to accelerate the development of the cannabis industry in New York State, and on Long Island in particular.” 

Regulators have granted 10 "conditional" or temporary cultivation licenses to farmers based on Long Island, according to the Office of Cannabis Management, which creates policies for medical and recreational marijuana.

Cannabis advocates have long pointed out that when cannabis is prohibited, people still consume it. That may seem obvious, however, cannabis prohibitionists try very hard to pretend that it’s not the case.

Under prohibition, cartels largely control cannabis sales. That is not to say that every single piece of cannabis is cartel controlled. Surely there are people cultivating small amounts where cannabis is prohibited and presumably some of them are selling it to other people.

In a regulated cannabis system, many consumers and patients will gladly make their purchases at licensed outlets, even if it is a little more expensive compared to unregulated sources.

GLENDALE - Hollyweed, an emerging cannabis beauty and holistic company, has launched its line of products that may help Americans to keep up with their mental, spiritual, emotional and holistic fitness. 

Hollyweed has emerged as the leading company that manufactures cannabinoid and hemp products ever since the Californian Government lifted the ban on cannabis. The famous plant advocate and Multimedia artist Zach Fernandez played an essential role in the company's setup as he changed the famous Hollywood logo to the Hollyweed sign on New Year’s Eve in 2017.

GLENDALE - Hollyweed, an emerging cannabis beauty and holistic company, has launched its line of products that may help Americans to keep up with their mental, spiritual, emotional and holistic fitness. 

Hollyweed has emerged as the leading company that manufactures cannabinoid and hemp products ever since the Californian Government lifted the ban on cannabis. The famous plant advocate and Multimedia artist Zach Fernandez played an essential role in the company's setup as he changed the famous Hollywood logo to the Hollyweed sign on New Year’s Eve in 2017.

The company was founded with the help of experts in the CBD field with the agenda of building people's health by keeping in mind the six wellness factors, i.e., spiritual, emotional, intellectual, environmental, physical and social. The team focuses on integrating the medical knowledge related to the CBD industry to promote the transparent and proper use of the Cannabinoid.  

The company's Chief Executive Officer, Renee Gagnon, showed exemplary enthusiasm during the launch of their Delta 8 Segment. He added, "We're thrilled to announce the launch of the new 8 products of our company that have been specially formulated to help people interested in CBD consumption try the products under the special dosage mentioned. The products would help the users enhance their knowledge regarding the CBD products as each product is mixed with the Delta 8 strain that makes the blend unique."

Here are the launched products of the Delta 8 THC range: 

This product is formulated with the best Hemp flowers. The strain used in the making is exceptionally delicious and beneficial and makes you feel euphoric after a long tiring day. The product is priced at $39.95- $69.95 for a 3.5-gram jar. 

Green Thumb Industries Inc., the owner of RISE Dispensaries, established a grant program to help organizations seeking to amend the horrific effects of the war on drugs.

According to a company press release, fall 2021 was the initial launch of the Good Green Grant Program. The company aims to donate more than $1 million by the end of the year. It has granted over $500,000 to eight organizations whose focal points are education, employment, and expungement of individuals convicted of selling cannabis.

“We want to reduce the harms caused by the war on drugs,” Jai Kensey, director of social impact for Green Thumb Industries, said to a news outlet.