WeedLife News Network

Issuing of the first commercial licence for growing industrial hemp in Australia’s Northern Territory was announced on Friday – and it’s been a long time coming.

The successful licensee is Michael Jakobi:

“I applied for a commercial hemp licence because I wanted an alternative to growing hay and because I thought it would be a good rotational fit with some of my crops,” said Mr. Jakobi. “The fact that hemp is multi-use is very appealing, I am also interested in the possible soil conditioning benefits planting hemp may have for my future crops.”

The Northern Territory Government seems pretty pumped about the prospects for local production of hemp.

“To grow our economy, we need to diversify our economy – and expanding into the exciting sector of industrial hemp does just that,” said Minister for Agribusiness and Aquaculture Nicole Manison. “Starting an industrial hemp industry here in the Territory brings with it new jobs and new manufacturing and exporting opportunities – the potential is very exciting.”

A cannabis product may fail contaminant testing if it has unsafe levels of microbials, heavy metals or pesticides.

While cannabis has many beneficial properties for both medical and recreational users, it also comes with intrinsic dangers like mold and yeast.

Growing cannabis sometimes involves pesticides, and the water can be polluted.

Most states where cannabis is legal have enacted legislation that requires companies to pass tests before releasing their product on the market. This, in turn, created a problem for companies that must ensure their product is safe and compliant with all regulations.

Luckily, the demand for a pure cannabis spurred the development of decontamination technology.

With recreational sales growing from $9.8 million in January to $65.5 million by August, there’s no questioning Michigan’s potential.

In December of 2019, Michigan became the tenth state in the U.S. to legalize adult-use cannabis. Less than a year in, it’s already outpaced Nevada to become the fifth highest-grossing state for cannabis sales and is on track to surpass $1 billion in sales, according to data from Headset.

In addition to its fast-growing new adult-use market, Michigan’s medical market is ranked #2 in the country, second only to California. Now, all eyes are on The Great Lake State as cannabis operators and investors across the U.S. seek to claim their share of this high-potential market.

Shares of cannabis producers soared on the stock market Thursday following the vice presidential debate, during which Kamala Harris announced the Biden administration would decriminalize marijuana at the federal level.

"We will decriminalize marijuana and we will expunge the records of those who have been convicted of marijuana," the California senator (D) said.

What Can Pot Stock Investors Look Forward to Next Year?

The record wildfires that have blanketed the West Coast in smoke and ash also have blocked out essential sunlight and set back the growth of outdoor marijuana plants by weeks, leaving growers with less-than-ideal options for when to harvest their plants.

Cannabis growers in California, Oregon and Washington state are contemplating two choices in the face of wildfires that have burned more than 5 million acres:

Michigan has taken an innovative approach to getting more entrepreneurs involved in the state’s marijuana industry—Microbusinesses, self-contained businesses that do not interact with the rest of the marijuana market. 

As it stands right now there are only two countries on earth that have passed an adult-use cannabis legalization measure.

The first to ever do it was Uruguay in 2013.

Uruguay’s legalization model is somewhat limited in that only residents can legally purchase adult-use cannabis.

Canada became the first G-7 nation to legalize cannabis for adult-use when it passed a nationwide legalization measure in 2018. 

The legalization model in Canada is such that any legally aged adult from anywhere on the planet can come to Canada and make a legal adult-use cannabis purchase.

Arkansas medical marijuana dispensaries are experiencing a shortage of the flower form of the product and a spokesman for Alcoholic Beverage Control said the agency is looking into the supply issue.

The number of medical marijuana patients in the state has surged past 80,000. The state has only four cultivators in operation, and dispensaries report having trouble getting some strains entirely. The supply of other products, such as tinctures, vape cartridges and edibles, is sufficient, dispensary owners say. 

“As of now, what we know is there have been shortages across the state of specific strains,” spokesman Scott Hardin said. “We have not seen any dispensaries that are totally out of product altogether. Typically, [the strain issues] have been resolved in a brief period of time.”

Fort Cannabis Co. in Fort Smith has run out of flower on a couple of occasions but the supply has generally been replenished within a day, according to Fort Cannabis General Manager Jordan Mooney. 

“It’s never too long, like days at a time, or anything like that,” Mooney said. Sales of flower, however, account for the majority of its business, Mooney said. 

A new study has found cannabis use is becoming more common among older adults in the USA – and it’s being used mostly for medical purposes.

University of California San Diego School of Medicine researchers surveyed 568 patients 65 years and older and found 15% had used cannabis in the past three years. Half of those reported using it regularly and 61 per cent started using cannabis after the age of 60.

“New users were more likely to use cannabis for medical reasons than for recreation,” said Kevin Yang, one of the UC San Diego researchers involved. Mr. Yang said this group were more likely to use cannabis topically rather than by smoking it or using edibles.

“Also, they were more likely to inform their doctor about their cannabis use, which reflects that cannabis use is no longer as stigmatized as it was previously.”

46% of the group using cannabis daily or weekly were using cannabidiol-only products.

A new study has found cannabis use is becoming more common among older adults in the USA – and it’s being used mostly for medical purposes.

University of California San Diego School of Medicine researchers surveyed 568 patients 65 years and older and found 15% had used cannabis in the past three years. Half of those reported using it regularly and 61 per cent started using cannabis after the age of 60.

“New users were more likely to use cannabis for medical reasons than for recreation,” said Kevin Yang, one of the UC San Diego researchers involved. Mr. Yang said this group were more likely to use cannabis topically rather than by smoking it or using edibles.

“Also, they were more likely to inform their doctor about their cannabis use, which reflects that cannabis use is no longer as stigmatized as it was previously.”

46% of the group using cannabis daily or weekly were using cannabidiol-only products.

Like most cannabis related activities, the preparation of edibles requires a healthy amount of trial and error.

A big part of making edibles if figuring out dosage. Depending on the potency of your cannabutter or base oil, some batches are going to be more powerful than others.

While there’s no way of protecting yourself against all unexpected factors when making infused treats, there are a few simple mistakes that can be avoided with some foresight. These will prevent your edibles from tasting gross and, most importantly, from not wiping you out with a single bite. Here are five common mistakes to watch out for when preparing edibles.

Use equal amounts of weed and oil

“Less is more” might as well be marijuana’s tag line, because it’s preferable to be a little buzzed than to have a full blown freak out because you ate an edible that was too strong. Even if you want to get crazy high, there’s only so much the lipids in oil will bind to your cannabis, so avoid wasting your weed and money.

The ratio you’re looking for is 1:1 — equal parts ground cannabis and oil. If you want to extend the life of your weed, you can also infuse your oil with cannabis stems, trims and vaporized flower.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is releasing new draft guidelines that are meant to streamline approvals for generic oral CBD medications.

In a notice published in the Federal Register on Wednesday, the agency said it is soliciting public feedback on its guidance to researchers who are interested in submitting abbreviated new drug applications (ANDAs) for CBD solutions.

To expedite the approval process, FDA said applicants can request a waiver of an in vivo bioequivalence study if they meet certain requirements. This guidance comes two years after the agency approved the brand-name CBD-based epilepsy medication Epidiolex from GW Pharmaceuticals.

Going forward, if a drug company wants to produce generic versions of that 100 mg/mL cannabidiol solution, they could follow specific rules to skip the in vivo bioequivalence study step if the draft guidance is finalized. The drug would have to be derived from Cannabis sativa L, contain no more than 0.1 percent THC and have “no inactive ingredient or other change in formulation from the [reference listed drug] that may significantly affect systemic availability.”

Researchers must use “appropriate analytical methods” such as macroscopic or microscopic analysis or DNA bar-coding methods to determine that the solution is being made from cannabis sativa.

On episode 42 of the award-winning Cannabis Tech Talks podcast, Cannabis & Tech Today Editor-in-Chief and Army veteran Charles Warner spoke to two ex-Marine Raiders about an issue close to his heart: solving the challenges veterans face after transitioning from the battlefield to home.

Bryan Buckley, CEO/Founder, and Matt Curran, CoFounder and COO, are disabled veterans who created the Helmand Valley Growers Company.

HVGC was created with the goal of exploring the benefits of medical marijuana and ending the opioid and suicide epidemic wreaking havoc on the veteran community.

Before the HVGC was founded, Curran and Buckley created the Battle Brothers Foundation, which is a non-profit organization that strives to help veterans fully transition into civilian life by prioritizing their personal, medical, and economic needs.

It was through this experience of talking with veterans, that they started noticing the positive impacts medical cannabis was having on the veteran community.

Are These Pot Stocks Going to Make Gains in The Future?

Vermont has become the eleventh state to legalize recreational marijuana sales with an announcement from Republican Gov. Phil Scott on Wednesday that he will let a bill establishing a regulated cannabis market become law without his signature. State lawmakers approved the measure, Senate Bill 54, after a bicameral committee reached an agreement on sticking points in the legislation last month.

“This has been a top priority for the majority in the Legislature for four years, but their work is not complete. They must ensure equity in this new policy and prevent their priority from becoming a public health problem for current and future generations,” Scott announced in a statement on Wednesday. “For these reasons, I am allowing this bill to become law without my signature.”

Although S. 54 includes provisions called for by Scott including the right of local governments to approve commercial cannabis activity in their jurisdictions and funds for education and drug prevention programs, the governor called on lawmakers to address what he characterized as “deficiencies in the bill.”

“Their work is not done,” he said. “The Legislature needs to strengthen education and prevention—including banning marketing that appeals in any way to our kids—otherwise they are knowingly failing to learn the lessons of the public health epidemic caused by tobacco and alcohol.”

Pot Legalized In 2018

Vermont legalized the personal possession and cultivation of cannabis by adults in 2018, but lawmakers failed to establish a framework for the regulation and taxation of commercial cannabis sales. Under S. 54, the cultivation, production, and sale of marijuana for use by adults will be regulated, with an excise of 14% levied on retail sales in addition to state sales tax.

To understand the unique distribution challenges of Oklahoma’s exploding cannabis market, one must first address the question that has preoccupied researchers, entrepreneurs, and investors ever since Oklahoma became second in the nation for dispensaries per capita, trailing only Oregon. That question being,  “Why Oklahoma?” According to a 2018 Verilife study, for every 100,000 Oklahomans there are approximately 15.6 dispensaries.

In a case that could have a dramatic impact on the state’s pot industry, the Florida Supreme Court made the unusual move Wednesday of hearing a second round of arguments in a challenge to a state law aimed at implementing a constitutional amendment that broadly legalized medical marijuana.

Tampa-based Florigrown LLC is challenging the 2017 law, which created a regulatory structure for the state’s medical marijuana industry. Florigrown, whose owners include prominent strip-club operator Joe Redner, alleges that the law improperly carries out the amendment.

One part of the law requires medical marijuana operators to handle all aspects of the cannabis business, including growing, processing, distributing and selling products. But Florigrown maintains the requirement, known as a “vertical integration” system, runs afoul of the constitutional amendment, approved by more than 71% of voters in 2016. The vertical integration requirement limits the number of companies that can participate in the industry, the Tampa business contends.

Florigrown won in lower courts after initiating its legal challenge three years ago. Wednesday’s arguments came after Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration appealed an appellate-court decision that upheld part of a temporary injunction issued by Leon County Circuit Judge Charles Dodson, who found that the 2017 law conflicted with the constitutional amendment.

The Supreme Court heard arguments in the case in May but, in a rare move, ordered a new round of arguments focused on whether the statute equates to an unconstitutional “special law.” The Florida Constitution bars “special” laws, which, generally, are intended to benefit specific entities.