WeedLife News Network

Cannabis use continues to increase in popularity among adults 65 years of age and older in the United States. With the legalization of cannabis in many states for either medical or recreational purposes, there is growing interest in using it to treat a variety of long-term health conditions and symptoms common among older adults.   

More than ever, cannabis use is on the rise for seniors. Legalization has given seniors more access to information that has helped to soften their harsh views of weed and create curiosity where there was once only disdain.

Yet, even with more material about cannabis becoming mainstream some seniors may still struggle to bridge the gap between their interest and their apprehension when it comes to actually going to a dispensary to buy cannabis for themselves.

Sue Taylor remembers a time when propaganda promoting the fear of marijuana was at a fever pitch — she admits that she used to think cannabis was “just as bad” as heroin or cocaine.

“I never had any intention of getting involved in the cannabis industry. You know, ‘Reefer Madness’ really did a number on me and my generation.” Taylor says. “I was taught that it was a very bad drug that made people do bad things — especially Black people. And, at the time, I believed it.”

A sound explanation comes from a report by the World Health Organization, which examined many, many aspects of CBD, including its potential for abuse.

With CBD pens, edibles, shatter, medicines and oils continuing to crop up across the United States and around the world, a vehement anti-cannabis strain of people look for the “bad” in anything marijuana. That extends to cannabidiol, or CBD, a non-psychoactive wonder component of the cannabis plant.

In all reality, a completely reasonable person with no experience with marijuana besides what’s been institutionally taught could also wonder the same thing. People are puffing on CBD vape pens left and right and pretty much every retailer in America offers some type of CBD product. If it’s so appealing so often, is it habit forming?

The simple answer is. A sound explanation comes from a report by the World Health Organization (WHO), which examined many, many aspects of CBD, including its potential for abuse. “Single dose administration of cannabidiol has been evaluated in healthy volunteers using a variety of tests of abuse potential as well as physiological effects in a randomized double blind placebo controlled trial,” reads the report.

“An orally administered dose of 600mg of CBD did not differ from placebo on the scales of the Addiction Research Centre Inventory, a 16 item Visual Analogue Mood Scale, subjective level of intoxication or psychotic symptoms,” in continued.

Legislation to wipe convictions for possession of small amounts cannabis off the records was tabled in the House of Assembly.

The Expungement of Convictions Act was designed to remove the stigma of past convictions for people who were caught with small amounts of the drug before it was decriminalised three years ago.

Kathy Lynn Simmons, the Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs, said cannabis laws had penalised young black men and damage their education and job prospects.

Ms Simmons added the 2017 Misuse of Drugs (Decriminalisation of Cannabis) Amendment Act decriminalised possession of 7g or less of cannabis.

She said on Friday: “At the time, the wider social justice policy objective was to discontinue the longstanding practice of criminalising individuals for personal cannabis use.

If you think the U.S. will soon legalize marijuana at the federal level, you're not alone. Canopy Growth CEO and former Constellation Brands CFO David Klein expects that it will happen in 2022. I've speculated that marijuana could be legalized nationwide as early as next year.

But could presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden be putting the brakes on the pot legalization train? Some might think so after reviewing recommendations from a task force that the former vice president formed along with Sen. Bernie Sanders. However, there's more to the story.

Slow-mo Joe?

The Biden-Sanders "unity task force" created a 110-page document chock-full of policy recommendations across a wide array of issues. Among the issues that the task force considered was marijuana legalization. Anyone hoping that the team would recommend full legalization of pot in the U.S. probably came away a little disappointed after reading the task force's document.

The task force called for the decriminalization of marijuana using executive action. This includes automatically expunging all previous marijuana convictions for the use and possession of marijuana. In addition, marijuana would be removed from the list of offenses for which individuals can be deported from the U.S.

There were no recommendations to completely legalize marijuana at the federal level. Will Biden will be "slow-mo Joe" when it comes to legalization if he adopts his task force's recommendations? Not really.

In early September 2019, President Trump expressed an urgency to ban vaping products.

In the wake of this announcement, the Center for Drug Control (CDC) reported that 1,299 confirmed and probable lung injury cases were associated with e-cigarette or vaping products.

In addition, the CDC confirmed 26 deaths related to vaping products. However, this wasn’t the first instance of bad press for vaping.

A History of the Vaping Crisis

Like many of today’s technologies, vaping and e-cigarettes seemed to skyrocket in popularity overnight. The credit is largely due to Juul.

Founded in 2015, the company set out to develop a cigarette alternative for those trying to wean themselves off of smoking. Since then, the company has become a verb, and in 2017 claimed over a third of the e-cigarette market, generating $224 million in revenue.

Earlier this week, the US Department of Agriculture approved hemp production plans under the nation’s Domestic Hemp Production Program for Minnesota, Tennessee and Puerto Rico.

The addition of the three brought the total number of state, territory and tribal plans approved so far to 53. These plans provide details on practices and procedures that enable local hemp producers to operate according to the relevant state plan and in compliance with federal laws.

Where a state doesn’t have a plan but will allow hemp production, a national plan will provide regulation and licencing. So far, one state is noted as having a USDA Hemp Producer License – New Hampshire. As we recently mentioned, Hawai’i will also head down this path.

Minnesota Agriculture Commissioner Thom Petersen welcomed the approval of his state’s plan, saying it was a major step forward – but noted ongoing concerns relating to regulations including hemp testing requirements. While the plan is now approved, Minnesota will continue to operate under its 2014 pilot program, which is permissible for this year. Minnesota is by no means alone in this – the USDA status list indicates 23 states have expressed their intention to operate under 2014 pilot programs.

Last year more than 7,300 acres and 400,000 indoor square feet of hemp crops were planted in Minnesota. This year, 511 people currently have grower and/or processor licenses, and  8,605 acres and 4.66 million indoor square feet of growing space is registered with the Minnesota Department of Agriculture.

According to a new report by The Denver Post, marijuana sales in Colorado set a new monthly record in May. The sales in May break a record that’s been in place since legal sales begin way back in 2014.

According to the report, licensed legal marijuana retail outlets and medical marijuana dispensaries sold $192,175,937 worth of products in May. This is based on data from the Department of Revenue’s Marijuana Enforcement Division. The Denver Post notes that these numbers mark 29% from April and an increase of 32% from May 2019.

Sales at both medical and recreational pot shops hit monthly all-time highs, at $42,989,322 and $149,186,615, respectively. Collectively, both sectors have sold more than $779 million in 2020 and paid more than $167 million in taxes and fees to the state.

Roy Bingham, co-founder and executive chairman of BSDA analytics firm, said a confluence of several factors caused by the pandemic are likely causing the increase in sales. For one, many people may have more leisure time and are spending more time at home, where cannabis is typically consumed. Existing marijuana consumers also are buying more each time they go to the dispensary, a trend that started with stocking up in March when Colorado went under a statewide stay-at-home order.

“Everyone has perhaps become more used to consuming a little more,” Bingham said.

After over a century of irresponsible treatment of our environment, our plant -humanity is in need of a quick solution. Hemp may just be one of the pieces to this giant puzzle.

Unfortunately, hemp didn’t have the opportunity to help us until recently due to poor regulation. Back in the 1930s, marijuana was criminalized as a dangerous substance that caused violent behaviors and had a high potential for addiction. When this happened, hemp was criminalized all the same even though it causes absolutely no psychoactive effects.

Hemp and marijuana are both apart of the cannabis sativa plant and, on a surface level, look almost identical. However, marijuana contains higher amounts of THC – the cannabinoid responsible for getting people “high” – while hemp contains higher amounts of CBD. It’s unclear whether or not people were aware of this information when cannabis was criminalized.

But what was most certainly common knowledge was all the different uses hemp had. This plant is one of the most versatile found in the wilderness and can be used for 20,000 different necessities, from food to rope to clothing.

In the last two decades, hemp has become a mainstream topic of discussion again. People have finally woken up to the ridiculousness of having such a robust plant be criminalized. And maybe they’ve done so just at the right time.

As COVID-19 puts a crunch on the state’s coffers, the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration is targeting California’s multi-billion dollar underground cannabis economy to get a piece of the pie.

CDTFA announced last week it has taken  sweeping actions against 12 illegal cannabis retailers across SoCal, from Los Angeles to San Bernardino County, in recent weeks. The CDTFA served tax warrants to the dozen in collaboration with the California Highway Patrol, who also assisted with the investigations.

In the process of the tax raids, the state also seized nearly a million dollars in pot products on top of $100,000 in cash. CDTFA said that money will go toward the tax liabilities involved with the various retailers.

“The CDTFA’s collaboration with the CHP is an important deterrent to tax evasion,” stated CDTFA Director Nicolas Maduros said in a statement announcing the actions. “Tax evasion unfairly shifts the burden onto all other taxpayers and makes it tough for those businesses that are playing by the rules to survive.”

CDTFA went on to note that under the California Revenue and Taxation Code, if you are willfully evading or attempting to evade the cultivation tax, the cannabis excise tax or the sales tax you’re committing a crime. But it’s worth noting these actions target retailers that were completely illegal, as opposed to anyone who may be fudging the numbers in a legal operation to mail a few packages East.

Many of the 55 or so state-licensed cultivators who now grow medical marijuana for the three existing dispensaries have their eye on winning one of the licenses.

The state Department of Business Regulation will begin accepting applications Friday from businesses hoping to win a license to operate one of six additional medical marijuana dispensaries.

But it likely won’t be until the end of next year at the earliest before any of the applicants who eventually win one of the lucrative licenses — chosen through a lottery — is selling marijuana, DBR officials say.

The DBR released regulations in March for how those new dispensaries must operate, with the expectation of opening the application period soon thereafter.

Last week, the FDA released a report to Congress on their findings after randomly testing a broad range of CBD brands and products on the market. The findings were shocking: More than half the CBD products tested were inaccurately labeled, in many cases containing significantly more or less CBD than indicated on the packaging. Alarmingly, nearly half of the CBD products tested were found to contain the psychoactive compound found in recreational and medical cannabis—THC.

According to a new study published in the Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine, marijuana inhalation is associated with short-term reductions in depressive feelings. The study was epublished by the National Institute of Health, and is titled The effectiveness of cannabis flower for immediate relief from symptoms of depression.

For the study researchers examined the effects of marijuana inhalation on depressive feelings in 1,819 subjects over a one-month period. Study participants self-administered marijuana and reported symptom changes in real time on a mobile software application.

According to researchers “almost all patients in our sample [96 percent] experienced symptom relief from using cannabis to treat depression.. with an average symptom intensity reduction of –3.76 points on a zero-to-ten visual analogue scale.”

Marijuana varieties that were dominant in THC were used. Researchers reported “minimal evidence of serious side-effects in the short run,” though they acknowledged that prior studies have shown “mixed findings on the association between cannabis use and symptoms of depression, with unclear conclusions as to the direction of causality.”

A Look at How Cannabis can help with the treatment of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Medical cannabis is one area of the applications of cannabis that slowly continues to gain prominence and acceptance in different climes. With the increase in the legalization of cannabis in different regions, there has also been an increase likewise into studies on the numerous medicinal benefits that are present in cannabis. Cannabis is readily used and prescribed by some physicians to help with the regulation of inflammation and used internally for certain ailments.

One such condition where the medicinal benefits of cannabis can be illustrated is the Carpal Tunnel Syndrome which is a painful condition associated with the median nerve of the hand and wrists and compression by the carpal tunnel. Before going into the role cannabis can play in alleviating the pain and dealing with the inflammation associated with carpal tunnel syndrome, it is important to first have a concrete and balanced understanding of the condition, the cause of the condition, the symptoms, and common modes of treatment.

What is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is a persistent painful health condition characterized by inflammations, severe pain, nerve damage, and so on. Studies show that enormous pressure and compression of the carpal tunnel on the median nerve is the major factor that causes it. The carpal tunnel is a narrow opening that runs through the wrist and hand and protects the median nerve. The carpal tunnel also holds tendons in the wrist area and allows for bending of the fingers. CTS is an entrapment neuropathy because the median nerve is one of the large nerves of the hand and it is the compression of swelling around the carpal tunnel that affects its activity thereby causing pain and inflammation.

Aurora Cannabis Inc. is closing some of its European operations as the cannabis producer opts to consolidate its presence in the continent amid soft demand for medical pot, according to an internal memo obtained by BNN Bloomberg. 

Aurora told its employees last week that it will shut its offices in Portugal, Spain, and Italy while reducing its European workforces by one-quarter in select countries and its regional office, the memo said. The Edmonton-based company will shift its European headquarters from Germany to its Denmark office while acquiring the remaining 49 per cent of its Danish business that it doesn't already own, the company said. 

A systematic review of 14 existing studies in animals has concluded CBD could possess “important” therapeutic potential in the treatment of people addicted to crack cocaine. 

According to the study published in the journal Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior, CBD or cannabidiol was shown to reduce addictive behaviors in animals dependent on cocaine, meaning the non-psychoactive compound found in marijuana could act as an adjunct therapy for people struggling with cocaine addiction. 

The reason scientists believe CBD could help alleviate the symptoms of addiction is due to its effects on anxiety, cocaine consumption and reward effects, neuronal proliferation, behavioral responses, hepatic protection and safety. 

“Cannabinoids may have an important therapeutic potential for the treatment of dependence on crack cocaine. Cannabidiol (CBD), in particular, has anxiolytic, antipsychotic and anticonvulsant properties and plays a role in regulating motivation circuitry and controlling sleep disorders,” the team behind the review wrote. 

However, as always, more clinical trials are necessary in order to determine whether the results of animal studies can be replicated in human test subjects diagnosed with cocaine or crack cocaine use disorder. 

The Seventh Circuit’s ruling is important because courts and legislatures may follow its interpretation of the 2018 Farm Bill with respect to smokable hemp.

The Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (“2018 Farm Bill”) legalized hemp by removing hemp and its derivatives from the definition of marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). The 2018 Farm Bill also provided a detailed framework for the production of hemp and directed the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to promulgate regulations and permitted states to maintain primary regulatory authority over hemp cultivated with their border by submitting a plan to the USDA.

In 2019, Indiana passed Senate Enrolled Act 516 (“Act 516”) to bring Indiana’s definition of hemp in line with the 2018 Farm Bill and to establish a regulatory framework for hemp production. Act 516 criminalized the possession of “smokable hemp,” which it defines as any industrial hemp product “in a form that allows THC to be introduced into the human body by inhalation of smoke.” Ind. Code § 35-48-1- 26.6. The law provides that “[a] person who knowingly or intentionally manufactures, finances the manufacture of, delivers, finances the delivery of, or possesses smokable hemp … commits dealing in smokable hemp, a Class A misdemeanor.” Ind. Code § 35-48-4-10.1.

In short, Act 516 made it a crime to manufacture, deliver, or possess smokable hemp.

Days before Act 516 was to go into effect, a group of hemp sellers and wholesalers (collectively referred to here as “CY Wholesale”) filed a federal lawsuit challenging Indiana’s prohibition on smokable hemp (we first covered that here). In its filing, CY Wholesale sought a temporary injunction to stop Indiana from enforcing the smokable hemp ban.

Breonna Taylor was a 36-year-old Black emergency medical worker who was killed in March while police in Louisville, Kentucky carried out a no-knock warrant as part of a narcotics investigation.

“Breonna Taylor died as a result of the war on drugs,” said Josh Alb as he shouted to demonstrators on the steps of Newark City Hall on Friday. “The police went into her house for a no-knock warrant for drugs that were never there. This is one of the biggest pieces missing from the conversation surrounding her.”

The war on drugs was a narcotics prohibition campaign that was created under former President Richard Nixon in the 1970s. Alb said the policy is still being used today to harm Black people like Taylor.

Alb, a William Paterson University student who lives in Newark and works in the cannabis industry, led about 30 demonstrators down Broad Street on Friday while shouting her name. They called for the legalization of marijuana to begin to end the war on drugs.

Legalization could happen soon - at least in New Jersey. Voters will decide if it should become legal on Nov. 3.

In less than two years after the country legalized recreational cannabis, Canada has reached an important milestone. According to a report in BNN Bloomberg, the country's dispensary count crossed the 1,000 mark as of July 17, landing at 1,010.

Of all the country's provinces and territories, Alberta in the West has the highest number, at 494. No. 2 is the province where some of the highest-quality Canadian cannabis has traditionally come from, British Columbia (211 dispensaries).