WeedLife News Network

Columbia Care Inc.  (OTCQX: CCHWF) is buying privately-held Green Leaf Medical, LLC  for approximately $240 million with the potential for additional performance-based milestone payments. Columbia will make a payment of $240 million, consisting of a cash payment of $45 million with the balance of $195 million being satisfied by the issuance of 43,900,144 common shares of the company. The deal is expected to close in the summer of 2021 and Columbia said the deal is immediately accretive.

Pests and contaminates are a given in the cultivation of cannabis, and most standards developed to control these on other agricultural products don’t apply. This is why the U.S. Pharmacopeia has stepped in to provide analytical methods and risk-based limits for the industry to help protect public health, including looking at how cannabis is grown, not just at how it hits the shelves.

As the cannabis industry expands into the rest of the U.S. market, traditional manufacturers and other businesses are getting involved. For manufacturers, there is an opening for logistical, quality, and production help. Whether it’s in healthcare or packaging, outside industry is now applying traditional business methods to cannabis to further legitimize its place in the contemporary market.

Recently, Cannabis & Tech Today sat down with Roger Throckmorton, Chief Brand Officer at International Plastics in Greenville, SC, to discuss better packaging options for the cannabis industry and why the “barrier bag” is key.

Australia’s Neurotech International Limited (ASX: NTI) has reported final results of in-vitro studies indicate its DOLCE/NTI cannabis strains exhibit potent anti-inflammatory activity.

Neurotech acquired an exclusive worldwide license to utilise proprietary cannabis strains from Dolce Cann Global, which it hopes could potentially be used to treat neurological disorders including autism, epilepsy and ADHD.

Neurotech’s analysis of 80 cannabis samples from the Dolce Cann Global revealed varying amounts of  cannabinoids including CBDV, CBDA, CBGA, CBG, CBD, THCV, CBN, THC, d8-THC, CBC and THCA – some of the many cannabinoids found in cannabis. CBDA was found to be present in particularly high levels.

The company has been undertaking a series of in-vitro* studies to assess the neuroprotective, anti-inflammatory and neuro-modulatory activities of the strains. Neurotech says the final results indicate DOLCE/NTI strains examined have shown to significantly improve neuronal cell health, cell viability and have the potent ability to reduce inflammation.

“Preclinical studies suggest that these strains exhibit potent and unique properties when compared to CBD alone and warrant the further assessment of these strains in phase 1 clinical trials,” said Assoc. Prof. Fahey.

The USA’s Federal Trade Commission has announced its first crackdown on CBD vendors that make deceptive claims about their products.

Operation CBDeceit is already poised to claim a few scalps – its goal being to protect consumers from false, deceptive and misleading health claims regarding cannabidiol (CBD) made in online advertisements, on web sites and social media platforms. Initial action is being taken against half a dozen sellers of CBD products.

According to the FTC, one of those vendors collared claimed its products prevent a wide range of serious conditions including cancer, diabetes and heart disease. The FTC says it is illegal to advertise a product can prevent, treat, or cure disease without competent and reliable scientific evidence to support such claims.

The financial penalties proposed in five of the six cases range from USD $20,000 to $85,000. The proposed administrative orders settling the FTC’s charges also include directions for those vendors to stop making unsupported health claims immediately and prohibits engaging in deceptive advertising in the future.

“The six settlements announced today send a clear message to the burgeoning CBD industry: Don’t make spurious health claims that are unsupported by medical science,” said FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection Director Andrew Smith. “Otherwise, don’t be surprised if you hear from the FTC.”

In 2020, cannabinoid production undoubtedly continued to steal the hemp show. According to a recent survey by market analytics firm Hemp Benchmarks, nearly 90% of growers opted to cultivate hemp either for cannabidiol (CBD) or cannabigerol (CBG).

But excitement has been simmering for another segment of the hemp market: hemp fiber.

With the potential to produce both bast and hurd that can be the basis for thousands of products, hemp fiber holds tremendous promise for the industry, and it’s where many industry leaders believe the future of hemp lies in the long-term.

It's been a crazy year on Wall Street. Investors only have eyes for the unrelenting rally in and growth prospects of tech stocks. But they might be overlooking an even greater growth story: marijuana stocks.

Though cannabis stocks have been on a wild ride of their own over the last five to seven years, we're beginning to see the first signs of industry maturation. In October 2018, Canada became the first industrialized country in the world to roll out the green carpet for recreational marijuana sales.

The National Basketball Association and the NBA Players Association have reached an agreement that will not test players for marijuana use for the entirety of the 2020 to 2021 season, which starts December 22. It's a continuation of a policy used during the unusual "bubble" arrangement for the 2020 NBA playoffs in Orlando.

In announcing the decision, NBA officials pointed to the coronavirus pandemic as a motivator. NBA spokesman Mike Bass said in a statement, "Due to the unusual circumstances in conjunction with the pandemic, we have agreed with the NBPA to suspend random testing for marijuana for the 2020 to 2021 season and focus our random testing program on performance-enhancing products and drugs of abuse."

In announcing the decision, NBA officials pointed to the coronavirus pandemic as a motivator. NBA spokesman Mike Bass said in a statement, “Due to the unusual circumstances in conjunction with the pandemic, we have agreed with the NBPA to suspend random testing for marijuana for the 2020 to 2021 season and focus our random testing program on performance-enhancing products and drugs of abuse.”

The announcement is another milestone in the ever-evolving relationship between professional sports and cannabis. Earlier this year, the NFL announced that players will face fines, not suspensions, when testing positive for marijuana use.

How long will the new policy last?

The NBA's decision is of interest to people in the cannabis business because sports often reflect broader cultural trends. It's also another case of businesses having to recalibrate drug testing policy in light of marijuana legalization taking place in states across the country.

Unlike the breathalyzer, which can detect alcohol impairment within seconds, Indiana’s new drug test experiment only shows that a motorist has used drugs.

As more states work to loosen their marijuana laws, and in many cases, make it part of legal society, some are still clinging to antiquated Drug War concepts in an attempt to disrupt progress. Indiana is one of those states. Not only are officials refusing to consider legitimizing cannabis for medicinal or recreational purposes, they are also, at the same time, imposing policies that will undoubtedly lead to more marijuana-related arrests.

The state recently announced that law enforcement agencies are now using a new roadside drug detection tool to stop drugged driving. However, the test is seriously flawed and could put innocent people in jail.

More than 50 police forces all over the state (including Evansville, Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, Lake County and Muncie) have started using a roadside drug detection device that can determine, within minutes, whether a person has illegal substances coursing through their veins. 

The device, known as the SoToxa Mobile Test System, is supposed to sniff out drivers high on cocaine, opiates, meth, and, of course, marijuana. The test’s manufacturer touts its ability to flag stoned motorists within five minutes by testing their saliva. The problem with this technology is that it scans explicitly for the presence of illegal drugs, not intoxication, making it possible for more sober motorists throughout Indiana to be prosecuted for stoned driving in 2021.  

Blue Dream, Purple Haze, Girl Scout Cookies, Red Headed Stranger, Acapulco Gold, Fruity Pebbles or Pineapple Express… all classic strain names and all of them meaningless.

“Strain names are absolutely misleading with considerable variation in the same cannabinoid content among different specimens of the same strain. You can get the same color and the same smell, but actually levels of the THC and CBD and some of the other compounds could be quite different,” says Robin Marles, Ph.D., chair of the U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP) Botanical Dietary Supplements and Herbal Medicines Expert Committee.

USP has assembled an expert panel of clinicians, scientists and industry representatives from around the world to provide necessary information and guidance on critical quality attributes, including recommendations for naming , all laid out in an article in the Journal of Natural Products, Cannabis Inflorescence for Medical Purposes: USP Considerations for Quality Attributes.

“USP recommendations are entirely focused on the inflorescence of the cannabis plant, popularly known as the flower or ‘the bud.’ And as with any plant product, the first challenge was to determine how to classify the various varieties and subtypes that are currently in use.” said Ikhlas Khan, Ph.D., USP’s Cannabis Expert Panel chair.

USP has elected to recognize cannabis as a single plant species, Cannabis sativa L., with different varieties or subtypes that can then be classified based on their THC and CBD content. The expert panel provided guidance for organizing the plant material into three “chemotype” categories: THC-dominant, CBD-dominant, or intermediate varieties that contain physiologically meaningful levels of both – intending to give prescribers or consumers greater clarity about what substances they are using.

Many states have stepped up to legalize medical or recreational cannabis, and federal legalization or decriminalization could finally be on the horizon for the U.S. But South Carolina continues to hold out as one of the states without even a medical industry, falling behind the rest of the country. All that could change, however, with the pre-filing of a new bill in the South Carolina Senate. 

The bill, so far known as Senate Bill 150 or the South Carolina Compassionate Care Act, was filed by Senator Tom Davis (R-Beaufort). He really thinks the bill has a chance in 2021, despite the state’s history. 

“I have a majority of state Senators who will vote for this, and I have a majority of House members who will vote for this bill,” Davis said.

While this is an exciting bill for cannabis advocates, Davis himself admits that it’s extremely conservative as cannabis bills go, which is why he is hopeful that it will pass. 

“We limit the qualifying conditions to medical conditions for which there is empirical evidence that medical cannabis can be a medicinal benefit.”

Medical marijuana sales in Arkansas have hit a significant milestone a little more than a year after the first dispensaries in the state began serving customers.

Local news outlets in the Natural State reported that medical cannabis sales in Arkansas have officially eclipsed $200 million, with patients purchasing more than 15 tons of product. 

The exact figures, according to local television stations KATV and 5NEWS: $200.7 million and 30,648 pounds of medical marijuana.

MMJ in AR

Voters in Arkansas approved a measure legalizing medical marijuana in 2016, but the first dispensary didn’t open until May of 2019. The law’s rollout faced impediments from state lawmakers and jurists in the nearly three years before the voters approved it at the ballot box and patients were able to be served, and has continued to face resistance. 

Lawmakers passed a measure last year, a month before sales began, significantly restricting the advertising of medical marijuana products. And in February, a county judge in Arkansas issued a freeze on the state’s ability to issue more licenses for dispensaries.

Medical marijuana sales in Arkansas have hit a significant milestone a little more than a year after the first dispensaries in the state began serving customers.

Local news outlets in the Natural State reported that medical cannabis sales in Arkansas have officially eclipsed $200 million, with patients purchasing more than 15 tons of product. 

U.S. Senator Rand Paul has introduced the Hemp Economic Mobilization Plan (H.E.M.P) Act of 2020 that seeks to significantly boost the maximum THC limit of hemp.

A major challenge for hemp farmers in the USA is the THC limit currently in place – 0.3%. Crops over this level are considered “hot” and must be destroyed. It’s a double-whammy as not only do affected farmers have the crops they’ve toiled over destroyed, they often have to also pay for their destruction. Additionally, they may be prosecuted.

The current THC limit restricts the choice of hemp varieties US farmers can cultivate, putting them at a disadvantage on the international scene as a number of other countries allow for higher THC content crops.

Senator Paul’s H.E.M.P Act of 2020 would  change the legal definition of hemp to raise the THC limit from 0.3% to 1% . Even at that level, hemp would have no recreational value. The legislation would also see testing of the final hemp-derived product instead of the hemp flower or plant.

Farmers have stated the current 15-day timeframe for harvesting and testing a hemp crop’s THC content is too short and does not take into aspects beyond their control; whereas hemp processors and manufacturers have greater control over THC content in their products.

Even during a pandemic, 'tis the season of giving and gifting loved ones with cannabis seems to be the latest holiday trend. That finding is from a new poll conducted by Glass House Group, a California-based cannabis and hemp company, which runs several dispensaries and a couple of grow sites.

So what are the top choices for holiday gifts? Flower, edibles and pre-rolls. Also, most of the 630 respondents who were surveyed said they plan on replacing alcohol consumption with cannabis during the holidays.

Highlights of the poll’s findings include:

U.S. Marijuana Stocks And Current Market Trends

The holidays are around the corner; 2020 isn’t over.

It’s time to get all the presents ordered and wrapped under the tree. Cannabis & Tech Today did the leg work and found gifts to satisfy all your CBD needs.

Sträva Craft CBD Coffee

Sträva is available in K-Cups, whole or ground beans, and comes in a wide range of dosages and flavors.

The company’s mission is “to enrich the lives of its customers by delivering extraordinary products, meaningful experiences, and to make a positive impact on the health and well being of customers around the world.”

Cannabidiol (CBD) is arguably the most popular cannabinoid on the planet right now. Whereas THC is associated with intoxication, CBD is not.

That is a significant distinction because while many consumers are fans of THC’s effects, not everyone is.

Someone that has no interest in experiencing the euphoric effects of THC, and thus has avoided consuming cannabis, may still want to experience the wellness benefits of CBD.

The market for CBD is larger than the market for THC. That is not a knock on THC – the market size for THC is massive, and increasing as reform victories pile up across the globe.

With that being said, it is no secret why CBD is growing in popularity at an exponential rate because it is appealing to a wider audience.