WeedLife News Network

Franny Tacy, the owner of Franny’s Farmacy, is the first female hemp farmer in North Carolina in over 75 years.

Can These Pot Stocks Beat Expectations Next Month?

Raw marijuana doesn’t have THC, but this doesn’t mean that the the plant in it’s natural state isn’t healthy or worth trying.

A lot of amateur cannabis users don’t know the details about cooking with cannabis. They might think that adding raw marijuana leaves to their sweets and dishes might produce some sort of effect. While this isn’t at all true, raw marijuana does have some interesting health benefits.

Not that long ago, researchers began to notice the benefits of the other parts of the cannabis plant, removing their focus from THC and CBD. These compounds and terpenes are plentiful and vastly different, to a point where researchers don’t even know how many there are and what their effects are in full.

Consuming raw cannabis has been likened to eating leafy greens. While the plant in this state won’t get you high or produce any psychoactive effects, it might help in preventing diseases, providing vitamins, minerals and cannabinoids. It most likely will taste really bad.

For the THC in the cannabis plant to become effective — providing the high and the sensation of relaxation or creativity — the plant needs to go through decarboxylation. It’s the process many unfortunately skip before eating marijuana (edibles). Decarboxylation occurs when you apply heat to the plant, be that when smoking a joint or when preheating cannabis before adding it in to your edibles.

Colorado’s Governor and Commissioner of Agriculture have again weighed in on the USDA’s Interim Final Rule related to establishing the nation’s Domestic Hemp Production Program.

The Interim Final Rule has been a controversial document. There was an initial sixty day public comment period between October 31, 2019 and December 30, 2019 and a subsequent extension period between December 31, 2019 and January 29, 2020. Then another extension for public comment kicked off in September. That closed last week, on October 8.

Colorado lodged a submission in the initial comment period and have added another during the most recent extension. Among what it wants to see:

Added to the above are another 7 specific comments. The full submission can be viewed here

“Colorado’s comments also underscore the concern that USDA’s Interim Final Rule may create an uneven impact on small, beginning and socially disadvantaged hemp growers and producers,” states a release published by Gov. Jared Polis’s office.

Officials in Maine reported on Tuesday that licensed retailers sold more than $250,000 worth of cannabis products during the state’s first weekend of legal recreational marijuana sales. The first retail cannabis dispensaries in Maine opened for business on Friday, nearly four years after voters approved recreational marijuana sales for adults in 2016.

“According to preliminary data, the long weekend (sales commencing on Friday, October 9, 2020 and concluding at end of the day Monday, October 12, 2020) saw sales of adult use marijuana surpass a quarter of a million dollars,” the Maine Office of Marijuana Policy (OMP) wrote in a tweet on Tuesday.

The total sales of recreational cannabis products for the four-day holiday weekend came to $258,411.58, according to the agency. The figure represents the revenue from 6,430 transactions, which generated a total of $25,841.16 in state sales tax. The OMP noted that the results had not yet been finalized and that all of the sales tax collected might not hit state coffers until next month.

“These figures are preliminary in nature and subject to further revision. Actual sales tax returns from the month of October are not due to the State Tax Assessor until November 15,” the agency tweeted.

State Regulator Applauds Smooth Launch

OMP director Erik Gundersen said in a press release that the first weekend of sales “went smoothly” and acknowledged both businesses and consumers for their role in the successful launch.

At its core, the U.S. cannabis industry is a resurgence of our country’s agriculture and manufacturing capabilities. From planting the cannabis seeds and harvesting the flower, to processing distillates and selling the finished product, this rapidly expanding industry relies on natural resources and stringent packaging requirements to even make it into the hands of a consumer. And like any other agricultural or retail business, it also creates waste that end up in landfills and produces harmful gases such as carbon dioxide and methane.

Researchers out of Michigan say it looks like legalizing weed may lead to greater cannabis use, which means that more pregnant women who smoke could be exposing their developing babies to THC.

There was a 32.5 per cent increase in THC-exposed newborns at a Michigan hospital between 2018 and 2019, following legalization of recreational weed in late 2018, according to Healio. The findings were presented recently at the American Academy of Pediatrics National Conference & Exhibition.

In all, 320 newborns born in the hospital between January 2014 and January 2020 tested positive for THC in their meconium, Healio reports. But the findings also indicate a steady rise in the rate of THC in meconium dating back to 2015.

While traces of THC were detected in five per 1,000 live births at the hospital in 2014, that increased annually after 2015. That year, the rate was 4.9, while it was 5.5 in 2016, 6.8 in 2017, 8.0 in 2018 and 10.6 per cent in 2019.

Although positive tests doubled over the 2014 to 2019 period, Healio points out, the biggest hike occurred from 2018 to 2019, representing the first year after legalization of recreational weed.

It’s 2020, and white men still dominate psychedelics conferences. If you’ve been in this scene for a while, you probably already know that. But this is not the whole story, it’s just the tip of the iceberg.

I recently wrote a reported news story about the racial and gender homogeneity of several psychedelics themed conferences which took place virtually since the Covid-19 outbreak. The responses to the article have been split between people resonating with it and sharing their own stories and reflections, and others who have expressed dissonance and even vitriol.

Although there is a lot of talk these days over the therapeutic benefits of marijuana’s non-intoxicating compound cannabidiol (CBD), the truth is that some of the best medicine derived from the cannabis plant includes all of its components. There are so many combinations of cannabinoids, terpenes and other less popularized elements that make whole-plant therapy the only way to get the most from this medicine.

When it comes to cannabis extracts, the term “full-spectrum” is an important one to remember. Normal extractions are known to sift out certain components, which can leave the finished product missing the depth present while in plant form. So a customer might get his or her hands on some highly potent shatter, which can have well over 50% THC, only to lose flavor and other crucial aspects. In the world of full-spectrum extracts, the chemist works to bring the plant’s exact profile to the resin.

To truly understand the importance of full-spectrum, it is first necessary to get a grip on this thing the cannabis industry refers to as “the entourage effect.” Simply put, the cannabis plant consists of more than 80 cannabinoids, a variety of terpenes, flavonoids, etc. that all work in synergy to bring the plant’s unique therapeutic qualities to life.

Photo by Shopify Partners via Burst

Working in family medicine for more than 20 years, Dr. Mark Ware has long witnessed the therapeutic benefits of cannabis, not only to address physical pain and discomfort, but also to treat mental health.

Many of Dr. Ware’s patients have chronic pain and have exhausted conventional therapies. Cannabis, in some cases, has helped not only to manage their pain, but also to alleviate the accompanying stress and anxiety.

“It was obvious to me very early on that cannabis had a very broad effect on people’s health, including their mental health,” Dr. Ware, chief medical officer for Canopy Growth, told The GrowthOp. “Cannabis and mental health are intimately intertwined.”

It’s a relationship, however, that is just starting to be understood.

Cannabis is not a singular compound; there are more than 100 cannabinoids in the plant that can produce different, sometimes opposing, effects. Add to that that every person has an individual endocannabinoid system that responds differently to those compounds.

Whether you’re starting a new business or building out an existing venture, communication is everything, former NBA superstar Isiah Thomas explained.

After a successful career in basketball, both as a player and a coach, NBA legend Isiah Thomas became a serial investor and entrepreneur.

Among his notable ventures was the acquisition of sparkling wine brand Cheurlin Champagne, and his recent appointment as CEO of cannabis company One World Pharma Inc., a Colombia-based producer of cannabis and hemp ingredients.

During a recent conversation focused on cannabis, hemp and One World Pharma, Thomas explained how his coaching experience and leadership experiences transferred over to business.

All About Teamwork

Thomas, who won the 1989 and 1990 NBA championships with the Detroit Pistons, has garnered worldwide recognition for his string of successful business ventures. He also transferred the skills he learned and nurtured on the court to his various roles as a business executive.

The timeline of cannabis in America is certainly a tumultuous one. From being spiritually and ritualistically used by Native Americans, to being vilified and criminalized by early 1900’s government officials leading to a 75 year prohibition, to an explosive “war on drugs” that had a choke hold on American culture for over two decades, marijuana and its users have been on a seriously wild ride.

Now, as of 2020, marijuana is fully legal in 11 states and medically legal and decriminalized in another 12. We are finally seeing the progress that the cannabis industry deserves.

This widespread legalization and decriminalization has opened the doors to a sonic boom in cannabis business and innovation.

In spite of ever-growing support for marijuana use in the United States, a recently-released FBI report revealed there were more people arrested for cannabis last year than for all violent crimes together. 

According to data from the Uniform Crime Report, a total of 545,602 people were arrested in the U.S. for marijuana-related offenses in 2019. However, the same report showed 495,871 people were arrested for violent crimes last year throughout the country. 

What’s even more interesting is the fact that 92% of the people arrested for cannabis, or 500,395, were apprehended for the mere possession of marijuana – which has been decriminalized in 28 U.S. states to date.  Eleven states have fully legalized marijuana, while a number of others allow cannabis for medical use.

The majority of the drug arrests were made in the Northeastern U.S., while in the Western U.S., where cannabis is largely legal, marijuana arrests were much less frequent. 

“Police across America make a marijuana-related arrest every 58 seconds. At a time when the overwhelming majority of Americans want cannabis to be legal and regulated, it is an outrage that many police departments across the country continue to waste tax dollars and limited law enforcement resources on arresting otherwise law-abiding citizens for simple marijuana possession,” Executive Director for cannabis advocacy group NORML Eric Altieri said following the release of the FBI data.  

The US Hemp Roundtable, the hemp industry’s leading national advocacy organization, is profoundly disappointed that the California Senate leadership refused to allow a vote on AB 2028 (Aguiar-Curry, Wicks and Wilk), which would have legalized the use of hemp CBD in all products, to advance before the end of the 2019-20 legislative session.

As a result, California will not benefit from tens of millions of new tax dollars or thousands of new jobs that AB 2028 would have delivered. California continues to lag behind 21 other states, including Florida, Texas, Virginia and Ohio, that have already enacted hemp CBD laws and are drawing business away from California.

AB 2028 represented the product of intense negotiations between the Roundtable, its allies in the California hemp farming and business industries, and Governor Gavin Newsom, an effort that legislative leaders had urged proponents to undertake. The measure received broad bipartisan support as evidenced by its passage in an earlier bill with unanimous votes by the Assembly, as well as the Senate Health and Business and Professions Committees.

“We have been told by staff to Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins that there simply was not enough time to consider the amendments to the bill in the waning days of session,” said Jonathan Miller, the Roundtable’s general counsel. “Assuming that is the case, we are optimistic that a reintroduction of AB 2028 at the earliest possible date, with any necessary technical fixes, will ultimately be supported by both houses of the Legislature and signed by Governor Newsom.”

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the California economy is profoundly distressed. Tax revenues have been hard hit, jobs have disappeared and the ability of the state to rebuild itself in a timely fashion is uncertain. The hemp industry, especially its hemp CBD market, represents a major source of new state and local revenues that can be realized quickly.

National market analyses (Brightfield Group and Fortune Business Insights, among others) project that the hemp CBD food and beverage industry alone will generate more than $2 billion annually by 2023. If enacted, AB 2028 would have pegged California’s share of that market at approximately $300 million in the first full year of operation.

France has announced a medical cannabis trial that is expected to begin in Mar. 2021, will run for two years and will see 3,000 patients receive pharmaceutical-grade cannabis products for free, Le Monde reports.

France’s Ministry of Health and Solidarity will oversee the trial, which was approved by the National Assembly in 2019. The program will focus on the efficacy of cannabis therapy to treat conditions such as epilepsy, neuropathic pain, multiple sclerosis and the side effects of chemotherapy, and will be limited to smokeless products like oils, tinctures and capsules.

Cannabis is illegal in France for recreational use and has been banned for medical use since 1953. In September, the country implemented a fixed fine of 200 euros (about $300) for cannabis consumption, rather than taking individuals into custody.

Though the plant is widely consumed, not everyone is in favour of cannabis reform.

Last month, in an interview with Le Parisien, Gérald Darmanin, France’s Minister of the Interior, called cannabis legalization “shit.”

Two Pot Stocks to Hedge Bets on

Mexico is one of the most exciting emerging cannabis markets in the world and we believe that the market is nearing an inflection point. Recently, we came across studies that highlighted the potential of the Mexican cannabis market and this is an opportunity that we are excited about over the long-term.w

In 2017, after a separate Supreme Court mandate, then-President Enrique Peña Nieto signed a decree legalizing cannabis for medical use. The government has stalled in implementing necessary regulations, and the drug remains out of reach for many patients. Almost two years ago, Mexico’s Supreme Court ruled that a cannabis ban as unconstitutional and we are favorable on how the topic has been gaining support.

The support that is being shown for the cannabis industry comes ahead of a key date for Mexico’s cannabis market. Under orders from the Supreme Court, Mexican lawmakers have until December 15th to pass cannabis legislation.

Although we are surprised with the amount of time it has taken to advance the Mexican cannabis market, the development is a great example of how much the world has changed over the last few decades. Previously, Mexico had restrictive drug laws that was fueled by deadly cartels wars and we are favorable on the way the industry is trending.

Currently, there is an intense debate on what legalization should look like and whom it should benefit. One side of the group believes that domestic cultivators that are currently cultivating cannabis should be protected from competition from large international cannabis companies. Recently, a bill was introduced that would allow private companies to sell cannabis to the public. Senate leader Ricardo Monreal expects the legislation to pass in the Senate within two weeks and then go to the lower house of Congress.

Voters in New Zealand will vote on Saturday on a nationwide referendum that would legalize the use and possession of cannabis by those 20 years of age and older. If passed, the vote would make New Zealand only the third country worldwide to legalize cannabis at the national level, joining Uruguay and Canada.

The referendum, known as the Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill, would require the New Zealand Parliament to establish rules and regulations for the commercial production and sale of cannabis and cannabis-infused products. The measure would also permit adults at least 20 years old to purchase up to 14 grams of herbal cannabis per day. Home cultivation of up to four cannabis plants per household would also be allowed under the ballot measure. Under current New Zealand law, the use of marijuana by adults is a crime punishable by up to three months in jail.

Last week, a group of New Zealand’s leading public health professionals expressed their support for the legalization referendum in an editorial published in the New Zealand Medical Journal.  Professor Michael Baker of the University of Otago, one of the health experts who helped guide New Zealand’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, said that the country is a world leader in using “innovative and evidence-informed approaches” to addressing complicated public health issues.

“It’s time to take the same fresh approach to cannabis law and put public health first,” Baker said.

“Our prohibition model for cannabis is outdated and doesn’t work,” Baker added. “Supporting law reform is about reframing cannabis use as a health issue which opens up new, more effective ways of minimizing harms caused by this drug.”

Legalizing marijuana could help Pennsylvania weather the economic turbulence brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

That was the argument put forth on Tuesday by the state’s governor, Tom Wolf, who continued to urge Keystone State lawmakers to take up the issue.

“This year, I again went to the General Assembly and asked them to make legalizing adult-use cannabis a priority for the fall as we work to find ways to overcome the economic hardships of the COVID-19 pandemic. To date, there has been no movement to advance legislation,” Wolf said during a morning visit to Monroe County, Pennsylvania, as quoted by local television station WGAL.

According to the station, Wolf likened the legalization of recreational pot to the “economic growth that the historic farm bill of 2018 did for hemp farming after decades of prohibition.”

That farm bill prompted many states to establish their own rules for hemp cultivation, with local farmers eager to capitalize on the CBD boom in recent years.

Problematic cannabis cultivation on Navajo Nation lands has led to a new resolution to clarify the Nation’s stance.

The Navajo Nation is an American Indian territory covering more than 17.5 million acres of north-eastern Arizona, south-eastern Utah and north-western New Mexico.

The Navajo Nation doesn’t allow for hemp or marijuana to be grown on its land, with the exception of a pilot project being carried out in partnership with New Mexico State University. However, at least one unauthorised party has been cultivating hemp, claiming passage of the 2018 Farm Bill that legalised it at a federal level allows this to occur – and there was no Navajo Nation penalty in place for growing hemp.