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On July 1st, recreational cannabis will become legal in the state of Virginia. But what will that actually mean?

That’s the question cannabis-enthusiasts in the state have been asking ever since Virginia legislators legalized the possession  of up to an ounce of marijuana for adult recreational use this February. Originally, retail sales were set to begin in 2024, but outcry ensued over the three-year wait before ending pot possession penalties, so in April they voted to move up legalization to this July 1.

Adding to the confusion: lawmakers included a “reenactment clause,” which means the General Assembly will have to vote again next year on major portions of the law, mainly to establish a regulatory framework for the legal marijuana marketplace.

The process has resulted in some contradictions that may not get resolved until years after legalization begins. It’s not surprising that advocacy groups have been flooded with calls from people trying to understand exactly what will be allowed under state law in July.

Sen. Adam Ebbin, one of the lead sponsors, said people need to understand the law’s limits for now. Possession of up to one ounce (28.3 grams) with no intent to distribute will become legal for adults, 21 and older. Adults will also be allowed to grow up to four marijuana plants per household. But not much else will change.

Investors weren't impressed by the company's latest earnings, to put it mildly.

What happened

Canadian cannabis purveyor HEXO (NYSE:HEXO) has been a dud over the last few days, with its shares falling by 12% week to date as of Thursday's market close. Marijuana stocks are generally volatile, and HEXO's latest earnings report wasn't its greatest.

So what

HEXO published its third-quarter results on Monday. It booked 22.7 million Canadian dollars ($18.4 million) in total revenue. This was only 2% higher on a year-over-year basis; worse, it was 31% lower quarter over quarter.

Cannabis seltzers and drinks are a good option for those who want to get high while steering clear of alcohol.

Photo by Kym MacKinnon via Unsplash

Weed drinks have been taking off, but they’re still not at the same level as other cannabis products. Vapes, edibles, and stronger batches of cannabis flower have been selling well for a variety of users, from newbies to experienced cannabis consumers.

Cannabis drinks stand in an awkward place; while there’s a growing interest in a “California sober” lifestyle, a lot of people don’t get why they should drink cannabis from a can when they could ingest it in other more traditional ways. The weedy flavor is also difficult to get used to.

Photo by Elsa Olofsson via Unsplash

Replacing a weed gummy or a joint with a cannabis drink isn’t an ideal solution. These drinks provide a different effect, something that’s much more light than what edibles are known for.

Experts and business say it's still too difficult to access.

Five years after landmark legal changes, Australian companies say the market is finally reaching a point where providing people safe and easy access to cannabis is actually possible.

In the US, where the legal frameworks around production and sale differ by state, the projected market value for medical cannabis is estimated to exceed US$13 billion by 2025.

While Australia has progressed — albeit slowly — since medical cannabis products became legal, experts believe there’s a fine line between a well-regulated market and one that’s keeping a now-legal product from those for whom it could benefit.

Step inside Superette's new nostalgia-fueled pot playhouse.

Image credit: Alex Lysakowski

This week, Canadian cannabis super brand Suprette opened a store in the Glebe section of Ottowa, and honestly we've never seen anything like it.

The dispensary is a technicolor, Willie Wonka-like stroll into a cannabis utopia. Part boardwalk carnival, part retro diner, and part cannabis store, the store is a joint venture between co-founders Mimi Lam and Drummond Munro. 

The creative duo has opened three cannabis stores in the past two years and won a Clio Award for their brand design. But the Glebe store takes their imagination to a whole new level. It even has a claw machine!

2 Marijuana Stocks That Investors Are Keeping An Eye On

Marijuana stocks over the last few days have displayed a bit more volatility. This has led the sector to face a pullback in trading. Yet even with a slight dip in trading overall more momentum is entering the market for marijuana stocks. As for those who have watched the market close you know the last 3 and a half months have been a rough period. This is because the entire sector essentially began to drop significantly in trading.

HARTFORD, CT (WFSB) - A recreational marijuana bill took a major step toward becoming law, but the governor threatened to veto it over an eleventh-hour amendment.

On Wednesday morning, things didn't look good, and some were saying the marijuana bill was dead.

Gov. Ned Lamont even threatened to veto the bill if it landed on his desk in that form.

However, the House of Representatives took that controversial amendment out.

On Wednesday night, The House passed the bill 76 to 62 with 13 not voting. 

Cannabis is gaining more popularity in the kitchen.

So much so that one of the leading cannabis chefs in North America is now travelling across Canada hosting workshops and teaching chefs how to properly cook with it.

“This isn’t a fad. This isn’t a niche,” said chef Travis Petersen. “This is going to be here to stay. This is the new frontier in the culinary world”

Petersen made an appearance on the MasterChef Canada reality TV show before launching The Nomad Cook, a culinary brand focused on introducing the culinary world to cannabis.

The EMCDDA’s European Drug Report 2021 highlights a significant increase in THC content of cannabis in Europe, as well as prevalent cannabis use amongst Europeans and an increase in home cultivation during the COVID-19 pandemic.

TORONTO, June 17, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ayr Wellness Inc. (CSE: AYR.A, OTC: AYRWF) (“Ayr” or the “Company”), a leading vertically integrated cannabis multi-state operator, announced today that the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission (“CCC” or the “Commission”) has granted its local partner Sira Naturals (“Sira”) a provisional license for the sale of adult-use cannabis at its Boylston Street location in Boston. The CCC voted to grant the provisional license at its monthly meeting earlier today. The provisional license allows for the continued development and construction of the dispensary and marks a significant milestone toward the opening of Ayr’s first adult-use store in the Greater Boston area.     

Ayr’s flagship adult-use dispensary in Boston is located at 829 Boylston Street, in the heart of Boston’s Back Bay. The planned 4,500 ft² store is located next to the Apple Store and across from the Prudential Center, well-positioned for pedestrian traffic and easy access to the city’s public transit. The neighborhood is a popular residential community, as well as one of New England’s preeminent destinations for shopping and dining.

Jonathan Sandelman, CEO of Ayr, said, “Despite being home to 60% of the state’s population, the Greater Boston Area has been underserved in access to adult-use cannabis. As cultivators of wellness and creators of wonder, we are excited to help change that and bring more of our high-quality cannabis offerings to the City of Boston.”

The proposed Boston dispensary executed a Host Community Agreement (“HCA”) with the City of Boston’s Cannabis Board on November 16, 2020. The Company executed two additional HCAs in the Greater Boston area, one in Watertown on October 20, 2020, and a second in Somerville, where the Company currently operates a medical dispensary, on October 9, 2020. Ayr will continue to work closely with the CCC to move toward final approval to commence adult-use operations in all three locations.

The CCC’s monthly meeting also included renewals of Sira’s three Media Marijuana Treatment Center (“MTC”) licenses, each of which covers cultivation, product manufacturing, and retail for medical marijuana. The renewed licenses were related to Sira’s Somerville, Watertown and Needham dispensary locations. Additionally, the Commission addressed a settlement between Sira and the Commission, related to wholesale transportation activities during the challenging reopening of the Massachusetts adult-use market in 2020 following the COVID-19 shutdown. While no violation has been admitted, the Company thanks the Commission for its efforts and dialogue over the intervening period and appreciates the important clarifications that the settlement provides.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill on Tuesday that expands the state’s medical marijuana program, although cannabis activists say the legislation does not go far enough. The measure, House Bill 1535 (HB 1535), was signed by the Republican governor after lawmakers in the Texas Senate made significant changes to the legislation last month.

Under the bill, patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and all types of cancer will be eligible to use approved medical cannabis products under the Texas Compassionate Use Program. Under current regulations, only intractable epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, ALS, terminal cancer, autism and many seizure disorders are listed as qualifying medical conditions for participation in the program.

HB 1535 also raises the cap on THC in approved medical marijuana formulations to 1 percent by dry weight. Currently, only cannabis medications with a maximum of 0.5 percent THC are permitted under the rules of the program.

An earlier version of the bill that increased the THC limit to 5 percent and also added chronic pain as a qualifying condition was passed by the Texas House of Representatives in April. But when the measure was taken up in the Senate last month, Republican Senator Charles Schwertner introduced a substitute version of the legislation that removed chronic pain as a qualifying condition and rolled back the potency increase to 1 percent.

“As a pharmacist and as a physician, I feel strongly that our limited medical program, with appropriate rules and oversight, is the right path for patients in Texas seeking symptom relief,” Schwertner said when he introduced the changes to the legislation. “I believe the evidence is starting to show that. I believe there needs to be further work, but certainly, the testimony is very strong by patients who are suffering from some of these conditions.”

In a new study, a group of international researchers investigated whether adolescent cannabis use has any effect on cortical thickness in the brains of teenagers.

Very few studies have looked at the link between cannabis use in adolescents and its impact on neurodevelopment, and although studies in animal models have pointed towards altered neurodevelopment with lasting behavioral effects with early cannabis use, studies in humans have provided conflicting results.

Now, reporting in the journal JAMA Psychiatry, researchers show that cannabis use during youth might be associated with changes in neurodevelopment – specifically, the thinning of cortical regions rich in cannabinoid 1 receptors (CB1 receptors).

In the study, the researchers used longitudinal neuroimaging and behavioral data (self-reported) from the IMAGEN study data set and investigated 2,223 school children from 8 different European regions who were all approximately 14 years of age.

Out of that cohort, the authors identified 799 participants (450 Female and 349 Male) that had not used cannabis at a baseline of roughly 14 years. They were followed up after a five-year period to determine changes in their cannabis use habits during adolescence while having Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) data of their brains available. 

If you're looking for a top pot stock to invest in, your search needs to start in the U.S. cannabis market, which boasts many fast-growing companies that are performing incredibly well and that could be excellent buys for years to come.

While The Hemp Mine’s annual field day usually puts the company’s latest genetic offerings on display, this year’s field day will have a twist. 

The Hemp Mine, a vertically integrated hemp CBD business in South Carolina, and Davis Hemp Farms, a seed breeding and producing company based in Oregon, are partnering to create a pheno-hunting process during The Hemp Mine’s field day to help growers pick the best genetics based on appearance, growth structure, hardiness, terpene profile, trichomes and peak maturity, according to SiraNaturals.

Hemp has a bright future in Ireland, but government obstacles are reportedly standing in the way.

Sinn Féin is a republican and democratic socialist political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Sinn Féin spokesperson on Agriculture, Matt Carthy TD, says hemp cultivation can help farmers supplement their income in a more environmentally way.

“Uses for hemp include building material for houses, paper, clothes, heating oil and as a plastic alternative,” he said. “There is also an increasing demand for CBD health products, extracted by various approved methods from Hemp, both in Ireland and internationally.”

But rather than actively supporting the sector, Mr. Carthy says the government is doing little.

In Northern Ireland, the Department of Health is responsible for issuing hemp licences. That might seem like an odd state of affairs given hemp’s myriad non-medicinal related uses, but cannabis in all its forms is treated as a controlled substance and subject to restrictive licensing laws.

The bill eliminates the possibility that being arrested for possession of small amounts of cannabis will result in prison time, which cannabis reform advocates typically demand.

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards signed off on House Bill 652 to decriminalize small amounts of cannabis possession for personal use.

Possession of up to 14 grams will now be categorized as a misdemeanor rather than a felony. Those caught violating the law face up to a $100 fine without jail time.

Photo by Elsa Olofsson via Unsplash

“It essentially provides for the officer to write a ticket with no jail time,” Shreveport Rep. Alan Seabaugh told the Daily Advertiser about the bill, signed on Tuesday.

June 18th, 1971, President Richard Nixon declared the “war on drugs,” an initiative fueled by fear mongering and racism supposedly started to stop illegal drug use.

For cannabis, the war on drugs disproportionately targeted Black and brown communities, subjecting people to unjust prison sentences for possessing a medicinal substance.

Now, 50 years after this global campaign began, U.S. House Representatives Bonnie Watson Coleman and Cori Bush have revealed a bill to decriminalize drug possession.

For harder drugs, like heroin and opioids, addiction kills thousands of Americans every year, destroying families and ruining lives.

According to data on Dual Diagnosis, 50% of all jail inmates have drug or alcohol addiction, while fewer than 10% receive treatment.

Industrial hemp growers in Tennessee are required to renew their licenses with the Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TDA) by June 30, 2021.

“Hemp continues to be an important crop in Tennessee,” Commissioner Charlie Hatcher, D.V.M. said. “The marketplace is evolving and growers are finding new ways to use and market their crop. We want to see the industry flourish, and TDA has abundant resources to make sure growers have what they need.”

New applications are accepted year-round and expire June 30. New applicants and renewing applicants must submit an application, license fees, and required documentation. If a renewal application and payment are not received by the deadline, the grower’s license will expire June 30, 2021 at 4:30 p.m. CDT.

TDA plant certification staff are a resource for new and existing hemp growers who want assistance navigating and understanding regulations and requirements. Consultants in the Business Development Division support the hemp industry by helping create or expand businesses and promoting businesses through Pick Tennessee Products.

Pick Tennessee Products is TDA’s program that connects farmers directly to consumers. Hemp producers near you can be found at www.picktnproducts.org or on the Pick TN mobile app. Tennessee hemp growers, processors, and manufacturers can apply to be included in the directory at www.picktnproducts.org/apply-pick-tennessee-products-application.html.

Edibles have been a huge part of the marijuana industry since well before recreational legalization. And it seems no two states have identical regulations for edibles that define the product’s THC limits, portion delineation requirements or the allowed shapes/colors of edibles. As federal legalization edges closer, it’s important to track and understand not just the state-to-state differences in edible regulations, but also the similarities.

Edibles are often a point of contention with lawmakers and concerned citizens, as there are common fears of over-consumption, child poisoning and accidental ingestion, and the effects of edibles on individual people seem to vary widely compared to inhalation THC products.

Different state, different rules

Many states have taken a simple approach to regulating edibles, by mandating strict limits on the milligrams of THC allowed in edibles. Most states consistently mandate a maximum serving size of 5-10 milligrams of THC and a per-package limit of 50-100 milligrams THC. Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont and Washington all have recreational regulations that fall within these limits. The package limits are much higher in Illinois and Montana, at 500 milligrams and 800 milligrams, respectively.

Many producers would like to see increased THC limits per serving, especially in states that have 5 milligram-per-serving THC limits. Those who wish to expand or change regulations often face an uphill battle, as public health advocates and other third parties form a more active opposition than in other marijuana regulation proposals.

And then there's Alaska

This can be seen in Alaska’s recent proposal to change the milligram limit from 5 milligrams per serving to 10 milligrams per serving with a package limit of 100 milligrams. There has been a ton of heated public comment debating this issue, as it would be a 100% increase from the current 5-milligram limit. Edibles are testing in Alaska with a 20% margin of error allowance, creating an effective limit of 120 milligrams per package.