WeedLife News Network

Thanks to the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, CBD containing less than 0.3% of THC (the psychoactive component of marijuana) is everywhere. And hemp seed oil in products has been around for decades. But aren’t CBD oil and hemp seed oil the same thing? Not quite.

While both are derived from the cannabis sativa plant and both are legal at the federal level, they are more like cousins than identical twins. Unfortunately, the terms are sometimes used interchangeably or in misleading ways in advertising. Often, both are misnomered as “hemp oil,” which neither truly is. Let’s clear things up.

Hemp Seed Oil

Hemp seed oil is derived from the seeds themselves and does have some potential health benefits, including an ideal ratio of rich fatty acids. These omegas may help with cardiovascular health by reducing the speed of plaque buildup in the arteries along with lowering blood pressure. Hemp seed oil is also frequently promoted as a beauty ingredient, benefitting skin, hair and nails. Hemp has long been grown for its fiber and industrial uses.

CBD Oil

CBD oil utilizes the stalks, leaves and flowers of the plant and is usually cultivated for its high concentration of CBD (cannabidiol), one of the compounds found in the cannabis sativa plant. Unlike hemp seed oil, CBD directly affects the endocannabinoid system (ECS), a recently discovered system in the body that helps regulate many other systems.

CBD oil, along with other compounds from the plant, is promoted as having the potential to help manage anxiety and depression, reduce stress, promote alertness and focus, improve sleep quality, boost mood, relieve pain, reduce inflammation and reduce the occurrence of epileptic events.

We believe Kathy Hochul may view cannabis as a popular initial (or near term) issue to champion at the start of her term thus gaining an initial win under her belt.

By Viridian Capital Advisors

As people begin to filter back into the office after a year-and-a-half in Zoom exile, the growing ranks of recreational cannabis users might want to take a peek at their employee handbook before lighting up.

Marijuana, which went from a controlled substance to a booming industry in Illinois during the pandemic, may still get you fired.

Potentially outdated cannabis employment policies could turn a socially acceptable weekend pot party into grounds for dismissal. With cannabis detectable by some tests for up to 30 days, even a dalliance can have career consequences.

But with an ongoing labor shortage and a sea change in sentiment for marijuana use, the onus may be on employers to get with the times.

In 2020, Canada became the largest exporter of dried cannabis flower in the world. Today, Canada is looking over its shoulder at a formidable competitor in Colombia, which recently instigated some legislative changes that position the country to become the global cannabis leader. Colombia was already recognized for its robust infrastructure, distribution and exports of certain cannabis products such as medicinal oils and extracts, but the country had a gaping hole in exports by keeping dried cannabis flower strictly verboten.

’m sitting in my kitchen, about to try my first sip of a milk that is vegan, sequesters carbon and increases biodiversity. Dairy milk has a high carbon footprint. Soy is linked to deforestation, almond to high water use. But how does the new kid on the scene – hemp seed milk – measure up for taste?

An Innovative Farmers project coordinated by the Soil Association is investigating how industrial hemp production could aid the transition to a low-carbon economy. In collaboration with scientists at Cranfield University and the British Hemp Alliance, research will quantify the environmental benefits of growing hemp. In farm trials that launched last month, five farmers are helping to investigate this plant’s ability to sequester or store carbon, improve soil health and increase biodiversity.

“Hemp could be a very valuable tool, but the UK is currently behind the curve internationally and there’s a distinct lack of data,” says Nathaniel Loxley, the Innovative Farmers project coordinator and co-founder of the British Hemp Alliance.

In theory, hemp has many potential benefits as a crop from an environmental perspective. It does not need pesticide chemicals or much water input, and hemp roots grow up to 3 metres deep, so they could help improve soil structure and nutrient levels, potentially leading to greater yields in follow-on crops.

“From a nutritional perspective, hemp seed milk ticks all the boxes. It’s low in saturated fats, there’s no sugar or cholesterol, it’s high in polyunsaturated fatty acids, and provides a really strong source of omega 3,” says Ben Cooper, Good Hemp’s brand manager. Cooper explains that whole hempseed hearts are processed “with some wizardry” to produce a cream, rather than an oil like other plant-based dairy products, to make this milk.

Cincinnati officials voted two years ago to expunge minor marijuana offenses, but so far, no cases seem to have been sealed due to the ordinance.

Hemp, Inc. (OTC PINK: HEMP), an established leader in the industrial hemp market, is pleased to see top-level athletes embracing CBD as part of their training programs.

Effective Jan. 1, 2018, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) removed CBD from its list of prohibited substances. The change allowed athletes to incorporate CBD into their training regimes for the postponed 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

Competitors in the delayed 2020 Summer Games, including softball outfielder Hayley McCleney and hurdler Devon Allen, are among those who utilized CBD products in the runup to the Olympic competition.

The Summer Olympics were in Tokyo, Japan, through Aug. 8, 2021. However, Japan’s strict anti-cannabis laws don’t permit athletes to take hemp products across international borders.

“It’s quite frustrating that I can’t use them to compete on the world’s biggest stage,” Rapinoe said.

“My name is Jared Polis and hemp – it’s everything.”

This was the message Colorado’s governor used to sign off on an order declaring June 6–13 Hemp Week in the Centennial State, and he is staking his legacy on the often-maligned plant that had been illegal to grow in the U.S. for nearly 50 years.

This is no surprise from Polis. In 2013, when he was serving in Congress, the Boulder native helped a lobbyist fly an American flag made from hemp grown in Colorado – which was illegal to grow in the U.S. at the time – over the U.S. Capitol on the Fourth of July. To kick off newly declared Hemp Week, Polis put an exclamation mark on his sustained efforts to champion cannabis and raised hemp-made American and Colorado flags over the state Capitol.

Replacing your alcohol addiction with a weed addiction is not the way to wean yourself off of alcohol. Here are some potentially helpful insights as to why.

The other day I stumbled on a post on Reddit written by a former booze hound who switched to cannabis to quit drinking.

The post went like this:

I quit drinking about 16 months ago, but I immediately started smoking more pot. Then I started vaping the high-concentrate waxes and shatter, and drinking tonics that are 100mg THC per bottle. I was putting massive amounts of THC in me. So, obviously, I was sober from booze, but not addiction-free because I was doing THC. If you do this- watch out- I quit the THC a few months ago and had major depression for a couple weeks afterwards. People say there is no withdraw from pot- they are trying to sell pot to you, or they just don’t know. There is withdraw, and it is NO fun. I’m sure the severity varies from person to person. So if you do pot, I’d recommend small doses! I have since quit.. once a month maybe I’ll smoke some flower. (Pot is legal in my state) – Reddit

While it’s good that the Redditor in question managed to wean off high doses of weed, and essentially break the cycle of addiction, it’s important to note that while weed can help you quit alcohol, it can also fill the space that the addiction to alcohol created.

We continue to see several conflations and misconceptions voiced in the discussion about microbial safety standards for cannabis products. The foundation for these misconceptions is the idea that cannabis testing regulations should mimic the food industry. We reject this idea because cannabis flower has two major departures from food: it contains high concentrations of antibiotics and it is dried and inhaled.

Cannabis Flower Contains High Concentrations of Antibiotics

As much as 20% of cannabis flower weight/volume is made up of cannabinoids, which are potent antibiotics. We have not seen any food on the market that is 20% (weight/volume) antibiotic.

Furthermore, each cannabis cultivar has a unique combination of cannabinoids and each cannabinoid has its own antimicrobial spectrum. For example. THC has different antibiotic properties than CBD and CBG. So one can assume that each unique flower chemotype creates a unique matrix that will affect the resulting colony counts. An effect not dissimilar to the one we observed when comparing different culture media.

Failure to purify these antibiotics from solution during homogenization will result in chemotype to chemotype variation and require each chemotype to be validated for microbial counts. This is daunting and no one in the cannabis industry is doing this despite it being well known that if the matrix changes you must revalidate. This lack of purification seen in plating methods is a weakness not seen in molecular methods that purify the sample before enumerating DNA molecules.

Additionally, because the cannabis flower’s natural antibiotics are packaged into trichomes, it is only when samples are aggressively homogenized that they are allowed to alter the microbiome on the flower. This effect is not seen by cannabis consumers who simply vaporize a non-homogenized flower sample, which means the test is not representative of what consumers experience.

Psychedelic drugs such as psilocybin and LSD can induce an experience known as oceanic boundlessness, which is characterized by a feeling of oneness with the world and a sense of awe. New research, published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, provides some preliminary evidence that high doses of cannabis can also produce this type of altered state of consciousness.

“Once the psilocybin labs started emphasizing that oceanic boundlessness seemed to be the mechanism underlying the molecule’s antidepressant effects, nearly every cannabis fan couldn’t help but ask, ‘Hey! Doesn’t marijuana have comparable effects?'” said study author Mitch Earleywine, a professor of psychology at the University at Albany.

“My students had already shown that ‘challenging experiences’ were common when folks ate more edibles than they intended to. Asking folks if they thought cannabis also produced these oceanic boundlessness effects seemed an obvious next step.”

For their study, the researchers used Facebook and Amazon Mechanical Turk to recruit a sample of 852 cannabis users, who completed an anonymous survey regarding the most dramatic THC experience of their lives. The survey included items from the oceanic boundlessness subscale of the Altered States of Consciousness Scale, a scientific questionnaire that is frequently used in psychedelic research.

Earleywine and his colleagues found that nearly 20% of participants reported a score on the oceanic boundlessness subscale that was above 60% of the maximum. People who report a score this high are considered as having had a “complete” or “breakthrough” oceanic boundlessness experience.

Written By: Andrew Ward.

Mexico could become the third nation to legalize cannabis after its Supreme Court ruled cannabis use and possession laws were unconstitutional, decriminalizing it in June 2021. The decision came after several deadlines were not met by Congress, prompting the court to take action.

Cannabis reform continues to make incremental reforms. In 2017, lawmakers approved a medical bill. The following year, Grandview Market Research valued the market at U.S.$47.3 million with a nearly 28% CAGR until 2025.

Still, concerns remain. Mexico's market experienced substantial setbacks due to legislative delays since legalizing medical in 2017. A framework for the medical market was released in January 2021. As of August, would-be operators remained in limbo regarding adult-use licenses.

Despite the significant hurdles, analysts and operators tell Benzinga that the market is poised to be a global leader.

The most sought-after marijuana being trafficked across the U.S.-Mexico border is now the weed entering Mexico, not the weed leaving it.

Cannabis sold legally in California is heading south illegally, dominating a booming boutique market across Mexico, where buying and selling the drug is still outlawed. Mexican dealers flaunt their U.S. products, noting them in bold lettering on menus sent to select clients: "IMPORTADO."

It feels as 2019 was a long while ago however some things can’t be forgotten. Back in July of 2019 a staff director for Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee was placed behind other members on the dais. This staff director Brendan was paying attention to all-too-rare bipartisan harmony. Both sides formed a collective understanding: it is time for the federal marijuana prohibition to end.

Diabetic nerve pain patients in Pennsylvania registered for the state’s medical cannabis program have been invited to join a study.

Diabetic neuropathy is a form of nerve damage that can occur in diabetes patients. The condition can range from  numbness or tingling in the extremities, or a burning, sharp, or aching pain. An estimated 47% of patients with diabetes in the USA have some form of peripheral neuropathy.

Clinical research organization Affinity Bio Partners last week announced it had launched a clinical study in Pennsylvania for registered medical cannabis patients suffering from diabetic nerve pain. However, Affinity Bio Partners didn’t offer anything in the way of detail in its announcement as to what the study involves specifically. Serena Group was also mentioned as being involved in the study, but no luck there either in terms of additional details at this point in time.

All that is provided is a phone number – 724-859-6200 – and email address – research.pgh@serenagroups.com “to check enrollment eligibility at no cost.”

“I am so excited to be working on this clinical study with Dr. Bryan Doner and the Serena Group,” said  Affinity Bio Partners CEO Christina DiArcangelo. “The future of medical cannabis and cannabinoids as medical treatments are dependent upon properly performed clinical studies. It is time for companies to invest their money into performing clinical studies that prove safety and efficacy regarding their products.”

When Fresh Green, the first medical marijuana dispensary in the Kansas City area, opened in October, one eighth of an ounce of flower cost $60. Nearly 10 months later, the same product can go for as low as $40.

Prices for medical marijuana have been dropping across Missouri as more manufacturers, cultivators and dispensaries open. As the market continues to grow, those in the industry say to expect the cost of cannabis to continue decreasing.

Missouri residents voted to legalize medical cannabis in 2018. Since then, the state has licensed 193 dispensaries, 59 cultivators and 86 manufacturers, though not all are in operation yet. But as the industry began to find its footing, scarcity of product begot higher prices.

“Certainly, we knew when stores opened here at the very beginning the prices were going to be higher, the selection was going to be more limited,” said Jack Cardetti, spokesman for the Missouri Medical Cannabis Trade Association. “But with each coming week, we see those trends reversing.”

Along with lower costs, consumers have access to more products than before. When dispensaries in the area first opened, they sold only flower. Now, they stock a variety of items, including edibles and cartridges.

Illinois adult-use cannabis sales have hit yet another record, reaching $127.8 million in July, about a $12.3 million increase from June, which reported over $115.5 million in recreational sales.

According to a monthly report by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, over $85.4 million of those sales came from in-state residents, while more than $42.3 million came from out-of-state residents.

By Franca Quarneti via El Planteo.

Paraguay will begin exporting oil, proteins and other non-psychoactive cannabis derivatives to the United States and Australia.

This was confirmed this Wednesday by Mario Abdo Benítez, president of Paraguay, during a visit to the industrial plant of Healthy Grains S.A