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The announcement that the amount of marijuana in liquid form seized by customs officials in Tokyo in 2020 soared nearly 70 times from the previous year has attracted headlines in a country that still operates a zero-tolerance policy on all forms of narcotics. For Junichi Takayasu, founder of the Hemp Museum, the dramatic media coverage of the figures is deeply unfortunate.

All too often, he says, the Japanese media, local authorities, the police and public simply conflate cannabis with hemp, a crop that has a history that stretches back centuries in Japan, and which Takayasu would like to see once again flourishing in the fields.

Annette and Bruce Wiles are spending the snowy winter selling their hops equipment after six years of selling their fragrant flowers in the brewery supply chain. It was a good experience, Annette says now, and the learning curve has helped get them to where they want to be as the 2021 season opens: primed and ready for hemp cultivation.

Cannabis employment company Vangst recently released its new “Cannabis Industry Salary Guide” and while some news is encouraging, there is still a long way to go for cannabis companies.

As Arizona learns the ropes of legal, recreational marijuana, California has become the expert for preparing for, and adapting to the spike in customers.

Arizona cultivators are going to have to ramp up their marijuana production to keep up while still giving priority to medical patients.

There are now nearly 100 approved recreational licenses in Arizona.

Spencer Andrews, public affair director for March and Ash in Imperial says the dispensary saw a 20% increase in sales since it made the switch in August 2020. Although, it still provides options for medical customers.

Want practical experience growing marijuana, but have no idea how to get a plant? Or just not comfortable growing cannabis at home?

Try stinging nettle, which is a plant that’s distantly related to cannabis and has similar growth patterns.

That’s just one of many workarounds Dana Milstein had to learn as she developed curriculum for UC Riverside’s new extension program focused on cannabis, which is the first program of its kind at a public university in California.

Canadian Cannabis Stocks Rally

Arizona voters approved the sales of adult use cannabis back in November and by January some providers were able to begin sales. It was called the Smart and Safe Arizona Act or Prop. 207, and it favored existing medical marijuana license holders. The companies that staked a flag in the state for the medical program were in a great position to quickly hit the ground running.

"Historically, this is massive. We're already one of the strongest medical markets in the country, and this is just going to make things bigger," said Pankaj Talwar, CEO of four Sol Flower dispensaries in the Metro Phoenix area.

Just one day before the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released its final rule on hemp, Kentucky Senator Adrienne Southworth introduced legislation in the state to increase the allowable amount of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in hemp to 1%.

While the USDA’s final rule maintains its 0.3% THC limit, Southworth, who assumed office Jan. 1, is hoping that may still change at the federal level. And if it doesn’t, she’s hoping Kentucky can lead the charge in helping other states make the change at a local level.

The USA’s National Hemp Association has produced an action plan touching on how hemp can be incorporated into the major climate initiatives identified by the Biden Administration. 

The plan, submitted to the White House, USDA and the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, indicates hemp can play an important role in a number of sectors; including transport, energy, housing and environmental justice. These and others are sectors will receive attention during the first 12 months of the new administration under the Biden-Harris National Climate Action Plan.

Never in my life did I expect to become an entrepreneur. For more than 20 years, I worked as a licensed compounding pharmacist. But in 2013, everything changed. I learned about CBD when I was introduced to it by my friend and talented entrepreneur, Arby Barroso, who struggled with health issues. He thought CBD could help, so I started making simple CBD oils and topicals for Arby and my friends and family. 

I was thrilled to see how much health and happiness it brought to their lives. It was incredibly fulfilling to use my expertise to create products from scratch and then see their impact. As word of mouth spread, I knew I had to leave my previous career behind and launch Green Roads.  

Some lawmakers in Illinois are being critical of the governor’s attempt to distribute cannabis dispensary licenses, calling it inequitable.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s license distribution plan involves a scoring system and lottery that some believe shuts out minorities.

State Rep. Sonya Harper, D-Chicago, calls out the system, saying it put minorities at a disadvantage and needs to be rethought, as reported by NPR.

Legalizing marijuana is once again under consideration, a measure that has stalled for the last several years in Albany. But the difference this year could be generating revenue to help close a large gap in the state's budget.

Still, like in previous years, the measure has been under debate, the details of how it happens will matter for lawmakers and Gov. Andrew Cuomo — as well as the New Yorkers legalizing marijuana could affect.

"It's no longer a question of whether New York should legalize marijuana for adult use, but much more of a question of what that actually looks like in practice and making sure we legalize the right way," said Melissa Moore, the New York director of the Drug Policy Alliance. 

More than $30 million in adult-use cannabis sales will help Illinois communities hardest hit by the war on drugs.

The Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority announced on Friday that 80 grants, totaling $31.5 million, are being awarded to organizations to help communities most affected by the war on drugs.

The 80 grants are part of the Restore, Reinvest, and Renew Program, which requires that 25% of all cannabis revenue helps communities. 

The awardees include nonprofit organizations, local units of government, tax-exempt faith-based organizations, businesses, and other community organizations.

Several Springfield agencies are on the list to receive an award.

Walking through the streets of downtown Seattle, I struggle to get used to the fact that the drab gray, one-bedroom loft located above the Occidental Square coffee shop I frequent rents for $4,000 per month. I struggle to come to grips with the knowledge that my fiance and I could easily sell our home in West Seattle today, move to any state in the south or the midwest and buy a 7-bedroom, 4,000-square foot mansion, on a lake, for the same price. 

How is that possible?

Making good on a warning issued months ago, the organization that represents most of the state's marijuana retailers is suing the Cannabis Control Commission to invalidate the new regulations that create a separate category of businesses allowed to deliver non-medical marijuana directly to consumers.

Cannabis sales in Colorado eclipsed a record $2 billion in 2020, state records show.

According to the Department of Revenue’s Marijuana Enforcement Division (MED), adult-use cannabis shops throughout the Centennial State raked in nearly $1.6 billion year-to-date through November.

Meanwhile, medical marijuana dispensaries sold more than $405 million worth of products during the 11-month period.

By comparison, Colorado dispensaries sold a total of $1.7 million worth of cannabis in 2019.

December figures have not been released, however, between January and November, sales of cannabis were up 25% compared to the same 11-month period in 2019.

Clever Leaves

Indiana farmers have enough to worry about with the learning curve associated with growing hemp – and they’ll also need to be wary of dishonest hemp seed vendors too.

But there is an easy way to avoid being conned.

2021 will be the first year hemp is grown in the state as a commercial crop rather than just for research purposes. There’s lots of interest – and where there is interest and money involved, there will also be unscrupulous parties trying to fleece others.