WeedLife News Network

In the U.S. economy, top tier financial analysts including JP Morgan and lesser-known but equally reputable industry analysts, such as Gartner and Forrester, play a powerful role in the creation, definition, and analysis of various markets.

Phil Murphy emphasized the social justice benefits, as well as the financial ones, to legalizing adult-use marijuana in New Jersey.

Add New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy to the growing list of state lawmakers positioning marijuana legalization as a quick fix to struggling economies. Murphy also emphasized the social justice benefit legalizing would induce, calling the act “an incredibly smart thing to do.”

“We’re not inventing marijuana,” he said during a radio interview Tuesday with the Jim Kerr Rock & Roll Morning Show. “It exists.”

The looming financial crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic means the state will need to find ways to innovate moving forward. A co-host on the program suggested cannabis and Murphy agreed, saying he’s “been on that from day one.” He added marijuana’s importance in criminal justice reform — a Black person is 3.5 times more likely to get arrested for cannabis possession in New Jersey than a white person, despite similar rates of use.

“It’s got a huge social justice piece for me,” Murphy said. “The overwhelming percentage of persons nailed in our criminal justice system are persons of color. It’s a no-brainer in that respect. It’s a job creator, it’s a tax revenue raiser, it checks a lot of boxes. I hope we’ll get there sooner than later.”

Recent testing carried out by the FDA on cannabis products shows there’s still a lot to be desired in product quality control.

The FDA has been undertaking a more extensive CBD product sampling effort this year to help it fill gaps in knowledge and to respond to a direction from Congress to determine prevalence of mislabeled or adulterated products in the current CBD marketplace.

The FDA first generated a list of 500 marketed CBD and hemp products. From that list, which included products where CBD wasn’t mentioned, 200 products were purchased across a number of categories – tincture/oil, capsule/powder, gummy, other edibles and pet products (tinctures, oils and drops).

Testing for cannabinoids was completed on 147 of the products purchased. The 11 cannabinoids tested for were CBC, CBD, CBDA, cannabidivarin (CBDV), CBG, CBGA, CBN, THC, ∆8-tetrahydrocannabinol (∆8-THC), THC, THCA and tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV).

Of the products, two mentioning CBD on the label didn’t have any all. Where products indicated a specific amount of CBD (102 products):

Virginia’s cannabis decriminalization policy went into effect on July 1 making it the 27th state to decriminalize simple marijuana possession.

The new law reflects recent shifts in public opinion, with 83% of Virginian voters supporting the decriminalization of cannabis, and 61% supporting the legalization of cannabis for adult personal use.

Under the old law, the first violations of marijuana possession imposed a fine of up to $500 and a jail sentence of up to 30 days. Subsequent offenses were a class 1 misdemeanors and permanently visible on a criminal record. The new law removes these provisions.

The timing of Virginia’s decriminalization policy is significant.

Cannabis legalization efforts are often tied to racial justice movements. In a special legislative session scheduled for August, lawmakers will consider further criminal justice reform. Cannabis legalization may be a part of those considerations.

When it comes to cultivating cannabis, many people are under the false impression that it is an easy thing to do.

“Cannabis grows like a weed!” you will hear many people exclaim. However, that is not actually the case.

Certainly, if you want to simply cultivate a cannabis plant from start to finish with no regard to how the plant turns out, and just want to keep it alive, then yes, it “grows like a weed” and the chances of success via that standard is pretty easy.

If you want to cultivate cannabis to a level that makes the end product desirable to consume, then it takes a lot of knowledge, experience, and hard work.

Cultivating a cannabis plant so it reaches the peak of its potential is far from easy. It’s a craft that very few people have truly mastered.

It’s fun to see what other people search online, especially if it’s something you’re interested in. So, let’s see what’s on people’s minds related to weed.

I’m fascinated by Quora. While you can find true experts in their field, superbly explaining some complicated issues, you can also find people asking the strangest questions there. Some of my favorite are

There are just some questions that no answers can top.

So, let’s see what people search for on Quora in relation to cannabis.

6 Cannabis-Related Questions on Quora

1. Did Jesus use cannabis? 

Cannabis sales in Colorado set a new monthly record in May, reaching their highest level since broad legalization in 2014.

Dispensaries sold over $192 million worth of cannabis products that month, according to data from the state Department of Revenue’s Marijuana Enforcement Division compiled by The Denver Post. That figure is up about 29% from April and 32% from May 2019.

Sales at medical and recreational marijuana shops hit monthly all-time highs, with just under $43 million and just over $149 million, respectively.

In all, the cannabis industry has sold more than $779 million in products so far this year and paid more than $167 million in taxes and fees to the state.

Colorado dispensaries were deemed essential businesses during the early days of the pandemic when there were statewide stay-at-home orders. So far, monthly cannabis sales this year have consistently outpaced 2019, the highest-grossing year on record.

It’s always been a point of contention in Hawaii that edibles aren’t part of the state’s medical offerings, despite the fact that the state has an established medical market. But, as of last Friday, the state legislature has officially passed a bill that allows edibles to be sold at licensed, medical dispensaries within the state. As long as Governor David Ige signs it into law, the state will open up to the edible market. 

“Passage of HB 2097 is a victory for the state’s 30,798 registered medical cannabis patients,” Randy Gonce, Hawai’i Cannabis Industry Association program director, said in a press release regarding the new bill. “Coronavirus has prompted more patients to seek ingestible forms of cannabis to replace inhalation due to concerns about lung health, so the approval of edibles is welcome news. Hawaii will now join 34 of 35 legal cannabis states that allow for remediation of cannabis plant material for biotic reasons, under specific conditions, as allowed by the DOH.” 

A Case For Edibles And Education

When the state first legalized, edibles weren’t included in the list of what dispensaries could offer to their new patients. Legislators were concerned that they would appeal too much to children and encourage early-age consumption. However, ingesting cannabis specifically is a preferred style of medication for a lot of patients, as it provides holistic effects and doesn’t involve smoking or other harmful ways of consuming. And, in light of all the economic struggles caused by COVID-19, a new avenue for product sales is definitely welcome. 

“We were hopeful that the bill would pass, but there were serious doubts that it would get through this year considering the circumstances,” said Diana Hahn, communications director for Hawaiian Ethos, a Hawaiin dispensary that has made it through the COVID-19 pandemic. The dispensary will start offering edible and drinkable products as long as this bill gets signed into law. 

“The timeline for edible products to roll out under this new legislation is still undetermined … since the bill that is now in front of the governor grants the DOH the ability to create rules around edible products,” Hahn said. “Until those rules are released by the DOH, dispensaries will not be allowed to sell edibles. So many of our patients have requested edibles,” she continued. “It’s great that the Legislature heard this request from constituents and delivered. On the mainland, edibles represent a significant and growing amount of revenue for dispensaries, and we believe this will be true in Hawai‘i as well.” 

A New Mexico medical cannabis provider has filed a suit in state district court that seeks to invalidate regulations recently adopted by the state Department of Health. The new rules governing aspects of the department’s Medical Cannabis Program such as lab testing, facilities standards, and product labeling went into effect earlier this month.

In a filing for the lawsuit, attorneys for medical cannabis producer Ultra Health wrote that the rules are “arbitrary and capricious” and would place a significant burden on providers and medical cannabis patients, and are not based on sound science.

“Producers, who already pay well over $100,000 per year for their license and are precluded by federal law from taking any income tax deductions, will have to pay for the increased testing burden and will pass along the costs to patients,” reads the petition, a copy of which was obtained by The NM Political Report.

“While Petitioner Ultra Health agrees that some testing is necessary to protect the safety of cannabis patients, DOH’s rules do not draw the necessary connection between the arbitrarily chosen testing parameters and specific measurements of patient safety,” the petition continues.

Attorneys for the plaintiff also called into question the DOH practice of relying on regulations enacted in other states as the basis for the new rules, rather than drafting regulations specific to New Mexico’s environment and other conditions. 

In the U.S. economy, top tier financial analysts including JP Morgan and lesser-known but equally reputable industry analysts, such as Gartner and Forrester, play a powerful role in the creation, definition, and analysis of various markets.

Homegrown Kush connoisseurs are being tapped to test an array of primo pot products as Illinois prepares to play host to a socially distanced version of the vaunted High Times Cannabis Cup later this summer.

High Times hosted the first Cannabis Cup in Amsterdam in 1988 and the event has since became a staple of stoner culture, with cannabis icons like Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa performing and serving as testers at recent incarnations of the bacchanal.

In the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, and the restrictions on large gatherings that followed, the pot-centric publication launched virtual versions of the event in other states this spring.

Now, just months after marijuana was fully legalized statewide, members of the public will have the chance to “identify and award the best cannabis products in all of Illinois,” High Times said on its website. Medical cannabis patients over the age of 18 and anyone 21 years or older can serve as a tester.

“This event will be the first-ever competition that is open to the Illinois public and will see the largest pool of judges in history,” according to the pot-centric publication.

A recent report from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that tracked the cannabinoid content of CBD products over the past six years shows nearly half of all products tested were mislabeled.

The products tested ran the gamut from oils to capsules, gummies, topicals, conventional food items and pet treats, among others. Two products were referred to the Drug Enforcement Agency after lab analysis revealed that one product, a CBD oil capsule, contained 16 mg/g of THC and another, a CBD gummy, tested positive for a synthetic cannabinoid. 

The FDA took into account several factors when choosing which products to test, but most prominent, were products that made “serious disease claims,” the report notes. 

Of 78 products tested from 2014 to 2018, cannabinoids were detected in 88 per cent and 86 per cent were found to contain CBD. A report of 23 CBD products tested in 2014 found that just 35 per cent were consistent with the amount of labeled CBD. “Many of the products contained THC and/or other cannabinoids,” the report states. 

Additionally, 31 products from 2019 were tested for cannabinoids, with 21 of those products specifying an amount of CBD on the label. Of those 21 products, only seven contained CBD within 20 per cent of the amount indicated, the report notes. Nearly half of the 2019 products tested contained THC.

Although cannabis has made legal strides in 33 states and is considered acceptable by the majority of American adults, there is comparatively little research being done on its usage and efficacy. We still have very little information about what’s safe, what’s not safe, and what’s safe for how long; we just support how it makes us feel. Even though the federal government still believes cannabis is a dangerous drug, over half of the United States allows its usage for a range of medical problems. Research, however, is lagging way behind demand. 

Higher Learning

Understanding the need for more research, Veriheal, a medical marijuana telemedicine platform, announced their 2020 cannabis research scholarship, through which they plan to spread out $10,000 between ten students who are currently enrolled in any institutions of higher learning. In an effort to encourage students of color into this lucrative industry, Josh Green and Sam Adetunji want to share their experiences and skills that they’ve developed since they launched Veriheal in 2017. The cannabis scholarship July’s deadline is quickly approaching. Apply here. 

About The Scholarship

Veriheal values education and wants to help students in need, especially students of color. Co-founders and co-owners, Josh Green, a Florida A&M University alum, and Sam Adetunji, who graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University, both understand the value of concentrated learning and want to be a part of the effort to bring the focus back to the plant. Josh Green believes that cold, hard science will help destigmatize the plant. 

“My hope is that everyone can try cannabis for themselves as medicine, free from persecution or misinformation. Cannabis is a plant that helps heal people, and should not be viewed as a drug that damages people,” he tells High Times. “There’s so much potential with mixing science and medicine for cannabis that we can perhaps find so many natural remedies for healthier living. We have to remove the stigma so that everyone can freely have safe access.” 

Unlike other tech brands, Veriheal has never had the luxury of venture capital investors, and the co-founders did not rely on generational wealth in funding their education and their dreams of ownership. Their community of family, friends, mentors, and clients have allowed them to study, graduate, and start their businesses. In this same ‘pay it forward’ effort, Veriheal is proud to offer some financial help to students and their families in the form of scholarships and mentorship. Winners will be selected from applicants who show the best overall combination of knowledge and passion for sustainability, community, awareness, and innovation for the cannabis plant.

California’s legal cannabis industry, not yet 4 years old, yearns for the same system of tying plants to the soil perfected by the French over centuries and a key to the marketing success of the state’s premium wine grape growers.

Tended for decades in legal darkness before voters ended the prohibition on cannabis in 2016, the intoxicating crop from Northern California in particular earned a global reputation for delivering euphoria as well as relief from various maladies.

Now, the burgeoning multibillion-dollar industry wants to stamp its products with geographic identifiers, just like France’s famed burgundies and Alexander Valley’s cabernet sauvignon.

At a time when America is trying to right its wrongs when it comes to the treatment of people of color and the war on drugs over the past few centuries, a Black, disabled veteran is still being held in prison on minor cannabis charges.

Sean Worsley, an Iraq veteran who suffers from a traumatic brain injury and PTSD, uses medical cannabis for his pain and anxiety. He legally purchased the medicine in his home state of Arizona before his arrest. 

Worsley and his wife, Eboni, were arrested in Pickens County, Alabama, where cannabis is still not legal, back in August 2016. This took place when the couple stopped at a gas station and were approached by police officers for listening to music “too loudly”. The police then proceeded to search the vehicle where they found Worsley’s medical cannabis. 

“I explained to him that Alabama did not have medical marijuana. I then placed the suspect in handcuffs,” the arresting officers stated in an official report. 

In addition to the cannabis, the officers found some unopened alcohol and prescribed pills—all legal. However, the pills were not in their original bottle, which the officers claimed was a felony. The Worsleys spent six days in jail and then faced even more criminal proceedings. 

Cannabis cultivators in Michigan have amassed the licenses necessary to grow more than half a million plants, leading to a surge in legal marijuana sales even as prices drop in the state. 

As of July 13, medical marijuana and adult-use cannabis cultivators were licensed to grow 511,500 plants, according to media reports of data released by the state’s Marijuana Regulatory Agency. That’s an increase of 20% from June 1, when licenses to grow 426,000 cannabis plants were active in the state.

One of the many ongoing dilemmas that young entrepreneurs with a new business face is acquiring the startup capital to make an impact in their respective industries.

Cannabis is no different.

We’ve seen many dominant industry players fall to the mercy of its investors and advisory boards. Bootstrapping your way to success can certainly take longer, but depending on your vision and goals, it may pose to be the most viable option. Slow initial growth is not the truest measure of success, by any means. The creative control that will be fostered may be the right avenue for stability and long term growth of your endeavors.

Few researchers have explored the benefits of microdosing cannabis until now.

Microdosing marijuana offers pain patients an alternative method to reduce symptoms without receiving the plant’s psychoactive components, a new Israeli study found. The clinical trial offers some of the first scientific insights into the efficacy of microdosing marijuana and could represent a new relief for patients who don’t like or aren’t suited for the traditional “high” associated with cannabis.

You probably recognize the term microdosing for its association with psychedelics, particularly in microdosing psilocybin mushrooms or LSD. A microdose is generally considered a subtherapeutic uptake of a drug. Put more plainly, it’s when you use a drug but don’t experience the mind-altering sensation.

Though the trend received serious attention in Silicon Valley communities, scientific research doesn’t support the anecdotal claims made by those microdosing psychedelics. But few researchers have explored the benefits of microdosing cannabis until now.

Traditionally, pain patients establish their own medical cannabis doses through a faulty trial-and-error process. No traditional dose of THC, the psychoactive component in marijuana, exists. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) actually requested help from the scientific community to standardize a unit dose of THC earlier this year.