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The Institute for Justice argues that the seizures violated state law, federal law, and the U.S. Constitution.

Because the continued federal prohibition of marijuana makes banks and payment processors leery of serving state-licensed cannabis suppliers, many of those businesses rely heavily on cash, which exposes them to a heightened risk of robbery. As a new federal lawsuit shows, that danger is not limited to garden-variety criminals. It includes cops who use federal civil forfeiture laws to steal money earned by state-legal marijuana businesses.

The Institute for Justice argues that the seizures violated state law, federal law, and the U.S. Constitution.

Because the continued federal prohibition of marijuana makes banks and payment processors leery of serving state-licensed cannabis suppliers, many of those businesses rely heavily on cash, which exposes them to a heightened risk of robbery. As a new federal lawsuit shows, that danger is not limited to garden-variety criminals. It includes cops who use federal civil forfeiture laws to steal money earned by state-legal marijuana businesses.

Five times since last May, sheriff's deputies in Kansas and California have stopped armored cars operated by Empyreal Logistics, a Pennsylvania-based company that serves marijuana businesses and financial institutions that work with them. The cops made off with cash after three of those stops, seizing a total of $1.2 million, but did not issue any citations or file any criminal charges, which are not necessary to confiscate property through civil forfeiture. That process allows police to pad their budgets by seizing assets they allege are connected to criminal activity, even when the owner is never charged, let alone convicted.

Empyreal, which is represented by the Institute for Justice, argues that the seizure of its clients' money violated state law, federal law, and the U.S. Constitution. In a complaint it filed last Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Empyreal says it is "entitled to protection from highway robberies, regardless of whether they are conducted by criminals or by the Sheriff and federal law-enforcement agencies acting under color of law."

On May 17, Dickinson County Sheriff's Deputy Kalen Robinson pulled over one of Empyreal's vans on Interstate 70, ostensibly because the Colorado tag number was partially obstructed by the license plate frame. Robinson grilled the driver, who explained that she planned to pick up cash from licensed medical marijuana dispensaries in Kansas City, Missouri, the next day, then take it to a credit union in Colorado, which would entail traveling through Kansas again on the same highway. Robinson let the driver proceed on her way without issuing a citation, but the federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) kept an eye on the van the following morning as it visited the Missouri dispensaries.

Later that day, Robinson stopped the van again as it traveled west on Interstate 70, seizing more than $165,000 in cash from its vault. In September, the Justice Department filed a civil forfeiture complaint seeking to keep the money. If the government prevails, the Dickinson County Sheriff's Department will get up to 80 percent of the loot under the Justice Department's "equitable sharing" program.

On an isolated farm, greenhouses stand in regimental order, sheltered by a fringe of trees. Inside are hundreds of head-high cannabis plants in precise rows, each rising from a pot nourished by coils of irrigation tubing. Lights powerful enough to turn night into day blaze overhead.

In the five years since California voters approved a broad legal marketplace for marijuana, thousands of greenhouses have sprouted across the state. But these, under their plastic canopies, conceal a secret.

The cultivator who operates the grow north of Sacramento holds a coveted state-issued license, permitting the business to produce and sell its plants. But it’s been virtually impossible for the grower to turn a profit in a struggling legal industry where wholesale prices for cannabis buds have plunged as much as 70% from a year ago, taxes approach 50% in some areas and customers find far better deals in the thriving underground marketplace.

So the company has two identities — one legal, the other illicit.

“We basically subsidize our white market with our black market,” said the cultivator, who agreed to speak with The Associated Press only on condition of anonymity to avoid possible prosecution.

Cannabis stocks aren't typically high on my list of go-to durable wealth creators -- except when it comes to Innovative Industrial Properties (NYSE: IIPR). Between its highly repeatable business model, persistently rising cash flows, and valuable service it provides for the cannabis industry, Innovative Industrial Properties (IIP) is a great option to increase your chances of retiring as a millionaire.

But that doesn't mean it's a ticket to get rich quickly nor is this company risk-free. Let's analyze how IIP makes money and why it might be a good fit for your portfolio.

Even though there have been trends that have taken hold within the world of cannabis in the past, it’s hard to imagine them having a bigger impact than ones that have taken hold in the early 2020s.

To say that the world of cannabis is much different than it was just a decade ago would be a drastic understatement. In years past there haven’t been as many developments around cannabis due to tight restrictions. Now, as those restrictions fade away in many locations, developments in the world of cannabis are coming constantly.

The developments that have transpired within the recreational cannabis space during the 2020s have taken off in very little time, and it’s hard to tell which are here to stay. These trends from the current decade will have a lasting impact on the realm of cannabis.

Association With Health & Wellness Sector 

Cannabis brands aligning themselves with the health and wellness verticals is smart business for numerous reasons. The health and wellness vertical is worth a total of $4.2 trillion globally. Additionally, by aligning with brands focused on self-improvement it’s easier for unfamiliar shoppers to get an understanding of cannabis products outside of the guise of just “getting stoned”.

People that have been into a vape store or headshop lately have likely come across products that look like regular marijuana products under the category of THC-O, or Delta-8 THC. Synthetic cannabinoids like these are becoming increasingly common in states where hemp-derived CBD products are legal.

Given the many challenges that the cannabis industry has faced in the early goings, many businesses have been forced to adapt. No asset has been more helpful in helping businesses in the marijuana industry overcome their challenges than rapidly-developing modern technology. From advanced DNA-based product personalization, to app-based retail businesses are able legally to cater to the needs of their customers in ways that were previously unimaginable.

Finding a location will likely be a challenge for those interested in starting one of Connecticut’s first recreational-use cannabis businesses, experts say.

Gary Chambers is running for a Senate seat in Louisiana.

Progressive activist and Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Gary Chambers Jr. smokes marijuana in a field in New Orleans while talking about marijuana reform in his first campaign ad.

On Jan. 1, smokeable medical marijuana became legal in Louisiana under certain conditions. But the use of cannabis has been a question asked of politicians for decades.

Also last year, the New Orleans City Council pardoned 10,000 cases of marijuana possession for anyone convicted after 2010.

Chambers, who has never been arrested, ended the ad saying, “Most of the people police are arresting aren't dealers, but rather people with small amounts of pot, just like me.”

There is no blood, saliva, or breathalyzer analysis that can ascertain whether a person who has used marijuana is actually impaired.

Six reasons why doctors recommend using marijuana, according to experts.

​​There's been plenty of evidence that finds using marijuana for certain medicinal purposes is highly beneficial. It's proven to be helpful for patients who experience seizures, have autism, severe nausea or vomiting caused by cancer treatment, Alzheimer's disease, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), HIV/AIDS, Crohn's disease, epilepsy and seizures, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis and muscle spasms, among other medical conditions. In addition, doctors are suggesting marijuana for other reasons and Eat This, Not That! Health talked to experts who explained the reasons marijuana is prescribed the most. (NOTE: In order to responsibly use marijuana for medicinal purposes, do not use unless under the care of a medical professional guiding its use, know how to legally obtain marijuana and familiarize yourself with what the laws are regarding its use and purchase.) 

Dr. Tom Ingegno DACM, MSOM, LAC says, "Pain is probably the number one reason anyone recommends cannabis. Pain is a symptom of many different issues and diseases, not just injuries.  Due to cannabis's ability to reduce inflammation, it can be used for everything from arthritis to intractable cancer pain.  With a big national push to move away from opiates, doctors have been looking at other sources for pain relief and cannabis fits the bill."

Dr. Kristina Hendija explains,"It works for stress and anxiety relief for many. Cannabinoid receptors are present in all the brain regions responsible for processing anxiety and stress. Use of medical marijuana helps to dampen the severity that stressful events have on an individual. It helps form a regulatory buffer system against overwhelming emotional responses while also modulating the networks balancing distress and well-being. It should be known, however, that long term marijuana use with subsequent withdrawal can result in temporarily reduced dopamine levels."

3. Sleep

"Cannabis can help people sleep.," says Dr. Ingegno.

"CBD, the non-psychoactive compound, can help people sleep more soundly and delta 9-THC, the most commonly known psychoactive compound found in cannabis,  may help people fall asleep.  While there may be an entourage effect with many of the other cannabinoids and terpenes, the compounds that add the various flavors to the different strains, in general look for Indica-dominant varieties to help with sleep."

New Jersey is unlikely to allow its marijuana users or medical marijuana patients to grow their own cannabis plants at home, the new president of the state Senate said this month. 

State Sen. Nick Scutari, D-Union, was the main proponent of New Jersey marijuana legalization in the state Senate and was elected by his colleagues as the body's president this year. But speaking to a virtual webinar of cannabis industry entrepreneurs and experts, he said he "did not see (home grow) happening right now," repeated a common refrain that allowing "home grow" would only contribute to the black market and hold back the legal industry from taking off. 

"I'm not against marijuana being grown at home for medical purposes and maybe even just recreational purposes," Scutari said at the event, hosted by the New Jersey CannaBusiness Association, a trade group for the cannabis industry.

"But we've got to let this industry … it's not even off the ground yet."

What's the hold up? 

The push to legalize home grow has largely been led by patient advocates in the state's medical marijuana program, who argue that allowing a limited number of marijuana plants would help patients avoid the exorbitant costs charged by legal medical marijuana dispensaries — and keeps them from turning to the black market.

An emergency state-level rule change doubled the number of cannabis plants that licensed growers can cultivate at one time, but some in the industry are concerned that the change is too little, too late to meet demand for the start of recreational sales in April.

The high barrier of entry into the wine world is one of the biggest reasons for the lack of diversity within the industry. Being a budtender or managing a dispensary doesn’t require as much training. 

As the cannabis industry develops, it’s hard not to make comparisons to other industries that had gone legit after years in the shadows. Among the first that comes to mind is wine.

Given the fact that the wine industry predates recreational cannabis by decades, it seems that it should come as no surprise that there’s a level of racism present within the industry, just as there are throughout other industries. Unfortunately, much of the racism that existed during the inception of the wine industry persists today. 

Naturally, this leads many people to wonder about the ways in which cannabis is any different from the wine industry in that regard. Even though the cannabis industry is still young, all indications show that the cannabis industry will provide more opportunities to People of Color than wine has. Here’s how cannabis is different from recreational cannabis from a social equity perspective.

The high barrier of entry into the wine world is one of the biggest reasons for the lack of diversity within the industry. The process of earning the certification necessary for becoming a wine sommelier can cost hundreds of dollars, which inherently excludes people without that kind of disposable income — which happens to be People of Color in most situations. In the cannabis industry, being a budtender or managing a dispensary doesn’t require as much training. 

According to the Deputy Director of the Center for Effective Public Management at the Brookings Institution, John Hudak, the ability of cannabis businesses to stay true to its beginnings will be essential in helping to ensure that the industry remains diverse. “Higher end wines tend to be disproportionately white compared to other parts of the economy,” he explains. “Because cannabis, the consumer base is inherently more diverse than wine, it benefits it to stay to its roots.”

Cannabis sativa is a universal and versatile plant, so it’s no wonder that it has been given so many names throughout history and the world.

There are many names attributed to the plant that is scientifically known as cannabis sativa. From weed, to hemp, cannabis and marijuana, this seven-pointed leaf plant has a list of aliases that seems to grow as quickly as the plant itself. 

Many names linked to cannabis sativa refer to the same type of plant or product, but not all of these terms should be used interchangeably. In fact, cannabis, hemp and marijuana all refer to different products. It is critical to understand the difference as some of these products are fully legal while others are associated with possible felony offenses. 

Many cannabis enthusiasts understand the difference between cannabis, hemp and marijuana, but “a third of Americans think hemp and marijuana are the same thing, according to the National Institutes of Health, and many people still search Google to find out whether cannabidiol — a cannabis derivative known as CBD — will get them high,” according to The Conversation.

Photo by Catherine Falls Commercial/Getty Images

Cannabis 

Cannabis is an umbrella term of sorts. The word cannabis is an abbreviated name that comes from cannabis sativa, its scientific plant name. “The word “cannabis” refers to all products derived from the plant Cannabis sativa,” according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This means hemp is a form of cannabis, and marijuana is also a form of cannabis.

Trilogene Seeds reports the “THC Null” cultivar simply “cannot make THC.”

A Colorado-based company claims it may have the solution for ensuring hemp does not run afoul of U.S. requirements related to THC: make sure the cultivar contains none of the psychoactive compound.

The so-called 2018 Farm Bill, which was signed into law on Dec. 20 of that year, demands that hemp contain no more than 0.3 per cent THC “on a dry weight basis,” notes a fact sheet from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Cannabis works wonders for chronic inflammation but we are just now understanding why.

Regardless of how anyone feels about inflammation or the amount of pain it comes with, it remains an unavoidable healthy response that keeps us alive. From bruising a finger to the after-effects of cancer treatments, inflammation is the body's automatic response to every physical condition. There are times when inflammation could lead to extreme pain and adverse conditions due to a dysfunctional effect on the immune system. At this point, drugs are needed to reduce the pain and hasten to heal.

Recent studies show that cannabis could be an essential anti-inflammatory agent. Some medications have been tested and proven over the years to be effective against debilitating and extremely painful inflammations. However, better options are being sought for managing chronic conditions. Because most potent anti-inflammatory medications tend to have adverse side effects when used for long periods,

This piece investigates the potential of cannabis to serve as a panacea for chronic inflammation and autoimmune disorders. We investigate the relationship between cannabinoids, the endocannabinoid system, and these disorders mentioned above.

What Is Inflammation?

You can consider inflammation to be the body's way of fighting and protecting itself against harm. In this case, harm could mean an infection or injury within or outside the body. For instance, when you have an injury, the first thing you notice is that the affected area reddens and swells. This reaction is due to the immune system sending out a group of white blood cells to contain the bleeding and fight off any form of infection.

Within the body, this same reaction occurs around the vital organs and also in the blood vessels. Put simply; the immune system causes any part of the body at risk of being infected to be inflamed. The elderly deal with more chronic inflammation and use cannabis at a higher rate then early generations. 

It appears Pakistan may soon be entering the lucrative and growing global cannabis industry. Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government announced late last year that it would allow for the industrial production of hemp, a cannabis plant containing cannabidiol (CBD) that many experts believe has numerous therapeutic benefits and is generally sold in the form of gel capsules, gummies, oils, supplements, and extracts.

Unlike its cousin, marijuana, hemp does not contain significant quantities of the psychoactive component known as tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). THC is the compound most associated with the intoxicating effects of cannabis. Although hemp-derived CBD production in Pakistan would mostly be for export markets, its use domestically for medical purposes has been legal since September of 2020, meaning that new production could also service a growing domestic market.

More recently, Pakistan’s Minister of Science and Technology Shibli Faraz is reported to have told the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Science and Technology that the government is set to introduce legislation to regulate the domestic cannabis industry imminently. This represents a huge economic opportunity for Pakistan as the country struggles to address its chronic current account deficit by boosting exports and diversifying its agricultural sector.

The use of CBD products related to health and wellness is set to experience exponential growth globally. This trend should be accelerated by the recent UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (UNCND) decision to reclassify cannabis as a “therapeutic product.”

In a consumer report from 2019, researchers estimated that 64 million people in the United States had tried CBD within a year of the study. The CBD market is also just starting to grow in Europe well as in other regions such as South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Latin America. Fortune Business Insights recently reported that the global cannabinoid market is projected to grow from just under $3.7 billion in 2021 to approximately $58 billion by 2028, which represents a compound annual growth rate of 47 percent.

The City of Grover Beach might be the first city in San Luis Obispo County to permit cannabis lounges, but what exactly would a lounge look like?

“With tables and perhaps a bar where people can sit and socialize and use cannabis like you would sip a martini or a beer at a bar," said Ed Schmults, CEO of Urbn Leaf.

The four retailers in the city, including Urbn Leaf, have expressed interest in adding a cannabis lounge to their existing location.

“Is it just like a bar or is it more like a wine tasting? Or are there elements of like a health and wellness seminar where you can learn about applications for pain or inflammation or anxiety or sleep? Or maybe a combination of all those things," said Schmults.

City officials say the additional tax revenue can be used for city initiatives and projects. Over the last year, the cannabis industry in the city has generated more than $2 million in cannabis tax revenue.  

Lafayette - It’s been a few years since the first medicinal marijuana products became available to patients in Louisiana and earlier this month the raw smokeable form was added to the list of available options.

But medicinal marijuana patients in the state are concerned about the pricing.

"My hope is that more production takes place, more consumption takes place, and then it’ll be volume-driven," he said.

Before HB391 was passed last summer by governor John Bel Edwards, the only options for medicinal marijuana patients were products like gummies, oils and tinctures.

Often times these products were pricey due to the processing it goes through.

A new vaccine being developed could be used to help those prone to Opioid Use Disorder and opiate addiction.

Scientists with a new research center at the University of Washington are working on a vaccine to help fight the opioid epidemic in a bid to stem the tide of overdose deaths that has swept the nation over the past two decades. 

Marco Pravetoni, the head of the new UW Medicine Center for Medication Development for Substance Use Disorders, is leading the effort to develop the vaccine. Similar to immunization against an invading pathogen, the vaccine under development would stimulate the body’s immune system to attack and destroy opioid molecules before they can enter the brain. 

Such a vaccine would not prevent drug cravings commonly experienced by those with opioid abuse disorder. But the treatment, if successful, would block the effects of opioids including euphoria, pain relief and even overdose, thus likely reducing abuse.

The new research center opened this month and has raised more than $2 million in initial funding. Pravetoni hopes to raise enough money to complete further research on the vaccine under development.

“What I’m hoping to achieve is pretty much every year, we’re going to start a new clinical trial,” Pravetoni told the Seattle Times in early January.