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The FDA said in a statement that the products that are the subject of the warning letters have not gone through the FDA drug approval process and are considered unapproved new drugs.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued warning letters to two companies for selling products labeled as containing cannabidiol (CBD) in ways that violate the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act). Specifically, the warning letters address the illegal marketing of unapproved drugs labeled as containing CBD. The companies are Honest Globe and BioLyte Laboratories.

The letter sent to Honest Globe referenced the products “ELIXICURE ORIGINAL PAIN RELIEF with CBD” (roll-on and pump versions) and “ELIXICURE LAVENDER PAIN RELIEF with CBD” (roll-on and pump versions) (hereinafter referred to as “ELIXICURE PAIN RELIEF with CBD” products). The “ELIXICURE PAIN RELIEF with CBD” products were labeled as containing cannabidiol (CBD) and require no prescription.

The letter reads, “Your “ELIXICURE PAIN RELIEF with CBD” products are unapproved new drugs introduced or delivered for introduction into interstate commerce in violation of sections 505(a) and 301(d) of the FD&C Act, 21 U.S.C. 355(a) and 331(d). Furthermore, your “ELIXICURE PAIN RELIEF” products are misbranded drugs introduced or delivered for introduction into interstate commerce in violation of sections 502(a), 502(ee), and 301(a) of the FD&C Act, 21 U.S.C. 352(a), 352(ee), and 331(a).” The FDA also said that although CBD was listed as an inactive ingredient in the labels of the “ELIXICURE PAIN RELIEF with CBD” products, the product labeling clearly represented CBD as an active ingredient, which is a component of a drug intended to furnish pharmacological activity or other direct effects in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease, or to affect the structure or function of the body. Ultimately an inactive ingredient should not exert pharmacological effects.

In addition to the marketing, Honest Globe was cited for production issues. The letter stated, “Your Quality Unit (QU) lacked control over your topical over-the-counter drug manufacturing operations and failed to ensure that you had adequate procedures. In your response, you committed to working with your contract laboratory to investigate the cited OOS results and future OOS results. Your response is inadequate because you did not address your responsibilities to investigate potential manufacturing deficiencies that may have led to the OOS results. Your response also failed to evaluate batches with OOS test results that had been distributed and were still within expiry.”

It’s fascinating how people choose their cannabis products, especially terpenes and flower. It wasn’t that long ago when the only option was cannabis flower via a local unregulated dealer, and likely only one or two options were available at that. The “I will take what I can get” strains were the most popular because, well, that was all that was available.

Zoom forward to today, and cannabis is legally available in several markets for medical and/or adult-use purposes, and the options are staggering.

THC Hunting

Arguably, the most common factor for consumers and patients purchasing flower in legal markets is the THC level associated with the particular flower, rather than terpenes. Veteran consumers typically want the strongest THC flower available. For rookies and newbies, the opposite is often the case.

The problem with that method is that THC testing levels can be misleading. Many producers know that THC levels drive sales, so they will get multiple tests performed and go with whatever test result comes back with the greatest amount of THC, even if it’s not necessarily accurate.

Another popular method for selection is searching for specific strain names and/or indica, sativa, or hybrid designations. Those factors can also be misleading because of how much cannabis crops vary from grower to grower and harvest to harvest. A much more applicable set of criteria is becoming more popular at dispensaries, which is good news for patients and consumers.

In general, it’s wise to spend a bit of time researching different cannabis products and effects and exploring menus so you can get some sense of what you’re looking for. 

Do you want something to help lull you to sleep? A low-dose tincture to take the edge off? Or a high-THC strain that will get you super stoned? There’s not a one-size-fits-all product for anyone — especially first-timers. 

Lantern, an on-demand cannabis e-commerce marketplace and home delivery platform, gives customers the option to answer a series of questions that help steer them to the right products. “Our goal is to empower consumers to confidently navigate the cannabis shopping experience to find which products best fit their goals and needs,” says Eric Lopez, head of operations at Lantern. Unlike a direct order from a retailer, a delivery from Lantern typically takes an hour or less, and the site accepts debit cards. To learn more about Lantern’s delivery service, visit lanternnow.com.

If you know you want to try flower, but aren’t sure whether to buy Purple Urkle, OG Kush, or Sour Diesel, opt for a pre-roll first. A pre-rolled joint gives you the freedom to try different strains before committing to an entire eighth. 

If you’re thinking you might like concentrates or vaping, an all-in-one option that includes the vaping device and the concentrate is a smart bet. These products are relatively inexpensive, ready to use, and usually tell you how many doses you’ll get in each unit.

Many countries around the world have made using cannabis for medical purposes completely legal, and some also legalized the use of marijuana for recreational purposes.

Due to high demand, a highly competitive market has developed. So, what is all the hype about?

It Can be Used to Treat Chronic Pain

Did you know most people who use medical marijuana on a regular basis do it because of chronic pain?

First of all, it can provide them with the pain relief they need to get through the day.

Second of all, it can be an effective and safer alternative to prescription medications.

Australian medical cannabis company Bod Australia Limited (ASX:BDA) has entered into an agreement with Drug Science UK involving a trial of Bod’s MediCabilis product in managing symptoms associated with long-COVID.

“Long-COVID” is a phenomenon where symptoms continue for weeks or months beyond the initial illness. Far from being isolated cases, it appears long-COVID is quite common; but as with the initial illness the impacts vary patient to patient. Even asymptomatic people who had relatively mild cases are reportedly experiencing long COVID.

At the time of writing, there have been more than 122 million cases of COVID-19 globally. It’s estimated 10% of those testing positive will have symptoms for 12 weeks after diagnosis.

Common reported symptoms are lethargy, muscle aches, loss of smell and taste and shortness of breath. For some, it can be debilitating and prevent them from engaging in a normal level of activity. As well as the physical effects, there’s also the psychological impact that may manifest as anxiety.

With the illness remaining a mystery and more people experiencing it as time goes on, there needs to be ways to manage long-COVID.

For the average person, images of sunshine, rainbows, blossoming flowers and lots of green grass usually come to mind whenever it’s springtime. But for people who like to smoke, it’s another excuse to combine to the best of both worlds and indulge in some season-inspired sessions. When it comes to spring smoking, it’s nice to reach for strains that are energizing and uplifting to match the boost in the weather if the sun is out where you live and go for calming strains that help you unwind in the evening to mellow out the hyperactivity of the day.

If you like going on the hunt for strains, keep an eye out for these at your local dispensary the next time you make a trip.

Green Crack

This popular, super potent sativa is an excellent morning smoke that may even rival a cup of coffee with its undeniable kick of get-up and-go. It’s the perfect way to bring in the new spring energy without dreading any sleepiness or laziness after waking and baking. Green Crack could also be useful for a quick post-punch session to give you an extra punch of energy.

Sunshine #4

Blaze your way into your happy place with a hybrid strain that not only helps to boost your mood but can also be highly-effective with alleviating pain, headaches and nausea. Like the name suggests, it’s a bright, euphoric high that’s powerful and instantly noticeable. This is a good fit if you like deep herbal flavors.

Researchers say that cannabis may have been around for about 19.6 to 28 million years. The earliest evidence of the plant’s existence is in the form of fossilized pollen.

Fast forward to modern times, and cannabis has become a $20.5-billion global industry. Market experts project this to multiply by more than four-fold by 2026. If this forecast comes to pass, its value will exceed $90 billion.

A primary factor behind this growth is the legalization of industrial hemp in the US. Scientists also continue to unearth hemp facts that establish the plant’s beneficial effects.

Despite the available literature, there’s still a lot of confusion about hemp. We’re here to set things straight, so be sure to read on to get your hemp plant facts right.

1. Cannabis Sativa That’s Not Marijuana

One of the facts about hemp and marijuana is that both are Cannabis sativa species. That makes them botanically similar, yes, but they have genetic varietal distinctions. It’s because of these differences that people grow and use them for different things.

In 2019, the SAFE Banking Act, a measure that would prevent federal banking regulators from sanctioning banks for working with legal cannabis businesses, passed in the House of Representatives only to languish in the then Republican-controlled Senate. Last week, the bill showed a shred of life when it was reintroduced in the House. Now that the Democrats are in control of Congress and the White House, is there hope that the SAFE Banking Act will finally pass?

The reaction among cannabis professionals has been equivocal, at best. For instance, Nathaniel Gurien, CEO of Fincann, a provider of payment solutions for the cannabis industry, feels the bill is nothing more than a superficial band aid to a larger problem, namely the federal illegality of the plant.  

"If Congress passes simple cannabis de-scheduling or the similar MORE Act, [which would decriminalize marijuana] this summer as expected, then the SAFE Banking Act would be moot," he said.

Yet Gurien has his doubts. “Majority Leader Schumer (D-NY) appears inclined towards more comprehensive legalization, which will likely require a couple years of wrangling with ‘stakeholders’ pushing federal legalization into the next Congress and 2023."

Matt Hawkins, founder and managing partner of Entourage Effect Capital, is adopting a glass half-full perspective. For him, the passage of the bill would be a boon for the industry as it could pave the way for plant-touching businesses to be able to trade on the NASDAQ and the New York Stock Exchange in the future. "This could open the floodgates for institutional investors who have been hungry to invest in this space and could also allow legal businesses to finally tap into capital markets and become closer to operating like mainstream companies," he explained. "Additionally, larger operators and ancillary companies flush with cash could have the buying power to more efficiently scale their businesses throughout the country."

We're soon going to learn a whole lot about cannabis in California.

An often overlooked provision of California's landmark legalization measure — Proposition 64 — set aside funds for research grants to study the impacts of cannabis. Well, the Bureau of Cannabis Control recently announced that it is awarding nearly $30 million in grants of up to $2 million to a host of public universities across the state — including Humboldt State University — to study various aspects of cannabis, including public health, public safety and economic and environmental impacts.

"The research conducted through these public university grants will provide critical information for evaluating our legal cannabis system and its impacts," Bureau Chief Lori Ajax said in a press release. "This research will be a valuable tool to inform future cannabis policy in California."

Included in the grants are some massive studies. For example, the University of California at San Francisco received $2 million to conduct a "comprehensive analysis" of cannabis exposure on the developing brain, while UC Santa Barbara got $2 million to study the impacts of farm practices on the quantity, quality and toxicity of surface water emissions from cannabis cultivation sites. UC Davis, meanwhile, got $1 million to study cannabis use's impacts on early psychosis, while UCLA received $1 million to assess "the feasibility and consequences of implementing a cannabis potency tax in California" and UC Berkeley received $465,000 to explore issues surrounding tribal sovereignty over cannabis permitting on Native ancestral lands.

Closer to home, HSU received $183,000 to study the economic impact of cannabis legalization in rural Northern California. The study will be headed by Sonoma State University professor of economics Robert Eyler and done in collaboration with the Humboldt Business Development Center (HBDC) and the California Center for Rural Policy at HSU.

Suzette Meyers is easy to label. Idaho native. Stroke survivor. Registered Republican.

But the Coeur d’Alene resident is also charging ahead with another label, one she repeats loudly and proudly: medical marijuana advocate.

“I look at people from my hometown in Salmon,” she said. “How many of them have had to suffer from debilitating conditions while people in the states around us have the freedom to choose what goes in their medicine cabinets?”

Meyers returned to Idaho from her lobby work in the Phoenix area last year, where she championed for medical marijuana in the Arizona Legislature, to continue her efforts in Coeur d’Alene. As North Idaho spokesperson for Kind Idaho, the emerging advocacy group that lobbies for medical marijuana legislation, Meyers said she’s eager to get the issue in front of Idaho voters in 2022.

“When you look at these communities so close to the borders, all they’re doing is stimulating economies in other states,” she said from a comfortable couch in Cloud Vapor, a vape shop in Post Falls, less than 5 miles from the Idaho-Washington state line. “We’re stimulating their economies and their agendas. Why shouldn’t we be doing that with our own economy or our own agenda?”

In Morocco’s impoverished Rif mountains, cannabis grower Mohamed El Mourabit hopes a plan to legalise the drug for some uses will raze what he calls a “wall of fear” surrounding farmers caught between poverty, traffickers and the law.

The government last week approved a law to allow the cultivation, export and use of cannabis for medicine or industry. Parliament looks likely to ratify it, despite the issue dividing the governing coalition’s biggest party.

The change is meant to improve the lot of farmers in the often restive Rif region where it has been grown for decades, and to tap into a growing global market for legal cannabis.

But the law has divided opinion among Rif farmers, who fear it will do nothing to address a years-long slide in their income or help them escape outstanding arrest warrants.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says the decriminalization of cannabis is “just a rung below” legalization and she does not view it as a rejection of last year’s referendum on the plant, reports Newshub.

A recent poll found that 69 per cent of New Zealanders either support full legalization or decriminalization of cannabis.

In a referendum held late last year, cannabis legalization was narrowly defeated, when 50.7 per cent of voters said “no” to legal weed.

Ardern faced criticism for not revealing her stance during the referendum. After voting was completed, she said she voted in favour of legalization.

In an interview last week, Ardern said, “I share the view of many that the idea of individuals being criminalized for possession is not something I think most New Zealanders support,” according to Newshub.

The cultivation, sale and consumption of cannabis is legal worldwide only in a few places such as Canada, Uruguay and a handful of American states.

Mexico, an important player in the global marijuana black market, could soon be added to the list. Last week, the lower house of Congress approved draft legislation to that effect and it's likely that the upper house too will sign off on it. In November last year, the upper house already passed the bill but it had to go through yet another vote following a few modifications.

While conservative lawmakers have expressed concerns that consumption and addiction rates could rise, proponents of legalization have said it's a step towards peace.

A failed drug policy

For years Mexico has been plagued by violence stemming from its so-called ‘drug war,' a conflict between the state and the drug cartels, which also fight amongst themselves. Since 2006, more than 300,000 people are said to have been killed in the Mexican drug war. In a few areas in the country, the cartels have taken de facto control and corrupt security forces, politicians and businessmen have joined forces with organized crime syndicates in many places.

Last year was a big year for cannabis.

In December, the Oregon recreational cannabis industry topped $1 billion in sales for the first time, ending the year at $1.1 billion—up from $795 million the year before. This sudden spike in sales should come as no surprise. Thousands throughout the state suddenly found themselves quarantined at home with plenty of time to kill. (Pro tip: cannabis is an excellent tool for killing time.)

But while the pandemic may have been the source of the industry’s sudden boom, it was also the source of a great many unforeseen obstacles.

“There were a lot of challenges on the labor side with all the problems we faced with COVID,” explains Jeff Johnson, cofounder of one of the state’s most successful dispensary chains, Nectar. “Just absolute chaos ... every day, basically.”

Cannabis shops had to scramble to adapt to the new normal, adopting safety-minded measures like curbside pickup and delivery. Certain complications arose—the rule that a service can deliver only within the jurisdiction where it’s licensed, for example—but overall, business around the newly deemed “essential” service trucked along smoothly.

White House staff are being fired for admitting to past marijuana use. The Biden administration has admitted to firing at least five staff members, suspending several others, and placing even more staffers into a remote work program as punishment for previous consumption.

Vice President Kamala Harris has openly joked about her former cannabis use, yet faces no backlash from the administration. 

The Daily Beast reported dozens of White House staff members are facing penalties for disclosing past use on a federal form used as part of the background check process. This comes on the heels of a February security service update in which federal policies were changed to prevent past cannabis use from automatically disqualifying staff from serving in the White House.

The firings are drawing considerable ire from cannabis proponents. 

Back in the days when “skunk” was mainly associated with cartoon character Pepé Le Pew and hydroponics was a way of improving cucumbers, most of the United Kingdom’s cannabis supply was imported from places such as Morocco and Lebanon. This changed in the past two or three decades in the UK and many other countries as organised criminal gangs set up growing operations closer to home.

Cannabis was still cultivated and distributed out of the more exotic locations on a large scale, particularly when it came to resin, but a fair amount of production had now moved closer to the demand in a process economists call import substitution.

It is hard to measure this accurately, but the Independent Drug Monitoring Unit estimated that by 2012, 80% of the cannabis used in the UK was grown in the country – up from 30% in the late 1990s. It is probably well over 90% now.

But in recent years, cannabis has undergone another major shift. A sizeable share of demand is now met by small-scale growers, mainly supplying themselves and friends and acquaintances. This has become possible for various reasons, including improvements to growing technology, new strains more suited to indoor growing, and the wealth of information and expertise on the internet. As such, many cannabis users no longer depend on traditional drug dealers.

This trend has been gaining momentum during the pandemic. So is this permanent or will the old supply chains reassert themselves when countries return to some kind of normality?

On any given day, more than a million dollars worth of cannabis products are on the move at the Nabis warehouse in Oakland, California.

Products like cannabis-infused chocolate bars and berry-flavored vape cartridges sit on the shelves, waiting for pick-up and shipping to dispensaries across the state. This movement of goods – facilitated by the Nabis’s own e-commerce platform developed for its wholesale business-to-business model – is being fueled by a surge in cannabis use during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Vince Ning, co-founder and CEO of Nabis said BEFORE the pandemic the company shipped about half of what it ships now.