Marijuana Legalization Bill Approved By Congressional Committee In Historic Vote
November 21, 2019
Business of Cannabis, Cannabis, Cannabis News, Law, Legislation, Regulation
Blog
CBD sold not quite as advertised
November 21, 2019
Business of Cannabis, Cannabinoids, Cannabis, Cannabis News, CBD, Retail Cannabis
Here’s an argument for the need for accountability in #cannabisindustry. What is sold ought to be closer to what is advertised. Is government regulation the solution? 3rd party transparency? Individual accountability? Court of public opinion?
https://www.leafly.com/news/strains-products/cbd-oil-test-results
The US House of Representatives may vote on CANNABIS Legalization this week: Here’s why it doesn’t matter!
November 20, 2019
Banking, Business of Cannabis, Law, Regulation
By Shuki Greer, Esq.
The House of Representatives, or more accurately the House Judiciary Committee, announced this week that they will be holding a markup for the MORE Act on Wednesday, November 20th. The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act (“MORE Act”) is a comprehensive legislative bill to completely overhaul the cannabis laws of the federal government. The revolutionary bill may be voted on the same day, and if it passes, the focus will shift to the Senate to pass the same.
The MORE Act has several key points. First, and most importantly, it removes cannabis from the Controlled Substance Act. It completely eliminates the criminal laws prohibiting cannabis at the federal level, while leaving room for states to create their own legal framework. Second, it creates a pathway for expungement and resentencing for existing marijuana convictions.
The bill goes further. It authorizes a 5% sales tax on cannabis sales, creating a fund that will be used to ameliorate the negative effects of the War on Drugs, create incentives for small businesses, and to support disadvantaged and marginalized people and communities.
Everyone that I’ve spoken to agrees that this bill is long overdue. The negative effects that our nation’s marijuana laws have caused are too numerous to mention. Cannabis’ medicinal and therapeutic uses are undeniable, and it’s about time that Congress does something about it.
But while the introduction of the bill may be cause for celebration, and while it may even have the support to pass the House, we are still far away from this bill becoming law. This is because unlike the Democratic-controlled House, the Senate is run by Mitch McConnell and the Republicans. Mitch famously stated that he won’t support marijuana legalization, even as he pushed for the legalization of hemp. The SAFE Banking Act, a far less controversial bill allowing financial institutions to do business with the legal cannabis industry, has completely stalled under Mitch’s watch. Mitch visited with industry leaders last month, but there is not much optimism that he will bring the SAFE Banking Act bill to a vote in the near future. While that bill remains tabled, it seems extremely unlikely that the MORE Act would ever get any traction.
Unfortunately, we are still a long way away from full federal legalization. While the list of states with medicinal and/or adult-use programs seems to increase from month to month, Washington lags behind. As long as we have presidential candidates calling cannabis a “gateway drug”, and leaders who still call it “Reefer”, cannabis will be federally illegal for years to come.
Are medical patients victims of #vapegate?
November 15, 2019
Business of Cannabis, Cannabis Science, Impairment, Retail Cannabis, Solo Sciences, Vaping
A popular (and welcome) take on the vaping situation is coming out to support medical consumers as a type of victim of the circumstances. There is a level of scientific understanding that is a necessary, and still incomplete, part of the discussion. For example, some of the dominant methods of lab testing for cannabis (plate culturing) are based on food safety protocols that are generations old, incorporates a system of understanding that is not the only means of testing or understanding (genetic sequencing, for instance) and, while we have learned a great deal mastering the current testing, we may be missing important safety concerns.
Another critical area of growth at hand is the clinical understanding of the implications of mainstream cannabis consumption. We have some information, but there is always more yet to learn. In order for Cannabis Medicine to catch up with the accomplishments and accolades of modern Medicine, we must overcome generations (and engrained systems) of academic road-blockages. Still more stands in the way of a well-oiled, safe cannabis-consuming culture, and that is reproducibility of clean product and the assurance that a consume is obtaining (and consuming) clean, safe product. These are solved, perhaps with regulatory oversight and technology, either within the public or private sectors.
For example, one of the elements of the current medical market that is still in need of close inspection and consideration is the potential contamination of vaporized products related to the construction materials of vapor technology itself. Devices are often made with metal solder which can contain and propel cadmium and/or other metals that are unhealthy for consumption. Similarly, heated plastics and other construction materials may be unsuitable as conduits for consumption by inhalation.
See http://cedfoundation.com/2019/09/05/vape-gate-2019-review-of-the-risks-of-vaping/ for a more complete review of some of these elements.
Nevertheless, it is wonderful to see public interest and discussion on this subject, which seems to touch on never common to many. Open-minded discussion, incorporating differing viewpoints will help us all grow to become a healthier and safer, cannabis-consuming culture.
Apple Store removes vaping apps
November 15, 2019
Regulation, Retail Cannabis, Vaping
New York Post: Dollar Tree gets FDA warning over ‘potentially unsafe’ drugs.
November 15, 2019
Cannabis News, CBD, Law, Regulation, Retail Cannabis
Cannabis testing: Plating vs genetic testing
November 14, 2019
Cannabis Science, Genetics, Lab Testing
Cannabis testing uses the same tech that has been used for ages. There are great benefits and lessons learned, relative to newer options, but also many concerns w/ this dominant technology and enticing benefits to the alternative, genetic testing.
SENIORS, CBD, AND THE LAWS OF ATTRACTION
November 14, 2019
Adult, Cannabis Education, Cannabis News, CBD, CED In The News, Dementia, Dr Caplan, Elderly, Future Medicine, Geriatrics, Impairment, Seniors
Kudos @abbierosner for this moving piece in CBD Today, “SENIORS, CBD, AND THE LAWS OF ATTRACTION” The article reviews an evolving #CBD playing field, the fears, the market, and a few sprinkled quotes by Dr Laurie Vollen, @JamiePaz, and me!
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Participants in Cannabis for Chronic Pain Study Describe Life-Changing Results
November 14, 2019
Adolescents, Adult, Adverse Effects, Anti-inflammatory properties, Anxiety, Cannabinoids, Cannabis, Cannabis Education, Cannabis Science, Case Study, Cognition, Future Medicine, Impairment, Memory, Pain
Restored Self: A Phenomenological Study of Pain Relief by Cannabis
In Summary:
In an Israeli qualitative study investigating the impact of cannabis use on chronic pain patients, all but one of the nineteen study participants experienced pain relief after cannabis use. Participants explained how cannabis allowed them to not just discontinue medications treating their pain, but also medications treating secondary outcomes of their pain, such as poor sleep and anxiety. Patients described feeling “a sigh of relief,” being “reborn” or being saved by cannabis use after years of debilitating pain and medication side effects.
Dr. Caplan and the #MDTake:
The pathway through which cannabis works to combat pain is different from the usual pathways doctors have used for the last 90 years. Prior to the 1930s, cannabis was used routinely, just about everywhere, but political and social agendas kidnapped the medicine and hid it away from most of the mainstream and from routine medical education.
Patients often describe typical pain relievers as adjusting the impact of the pain. Reducing or quieting the pain, softening discomfort, allowing the sufferer to perform previously typical tasks without debilitation or dysfunction. Cannabis, on the other hand, is sometimes described as “taking the sufferer away from the pain,” rather than the other way around. The effects that cannabis can have on the reduction of inflammation, attention, memory, and relaxation, provide a new type of opportunity for relief.
Still, other patients describe the effects of cannabis through a lens of mental focus. Whereas in daily use we typically open a standard set of drawers, some have said, the use of cannabis allows the consumer to open up a different set of draws, and through this adjusted lens, to see discomfort from a different perspective.
For those suffering with chronic pain, years upon years of discomfort, suffering that, when paired with modern medicines, has only met frustration and further discomfort, cannabis is frequently seen as a welcome “sigh of relief.”
This paper is also stored here: http://bit.ly/32FZkUU inside the CED Foundation Archive
View this review (yellow link) or download:
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USDA RELEASES DRAFT RULES FOR HEMP FARMING AND PRODUCTION, SETS 60- DAY WINDOW FOR PUBLIC COMMENT
November 7, 2019
Cannabis, Cannabis News, CBD, Hemp, History, Law, Legislation, Regulation, Shuki Greer,Esq, THC
By Shuki Greer, Esq.
Starting with the 2014 Farm Bill, and continuing with the 2018 Farm Bill, we have seen a dramatic shift in the landscape governing hemp. Prior to 5 years ago, hemp production was entirely illegal, as the Federal government handled industrial hemp the same as it handled high-THC marijuana. It was an established Schedule 1 controlled substance, entirely illegal to grow, harvest, or possess.
As awareness has grown, and the true benefits of the hemp plant have become more widely understood, the federal government has passed legislation to decriminalize hemp. However, although it is no longer considered a controlled substance, the questions about the process and regulatory requirements abound. This is because all plants grown in the United States are highly regulated by the United States Department of Agriculture, or the USDA, which has a complex framework of licensing, reporting, and general requirements for every specific product grown in the country.
Last week, the USDA published the draft of its regulations for the hemp industry. Since the 2018 farm bill, we have been living in the “wild west” for hemp. As promised, the USDA released its rules in time for farmers to get legal and licensed for the 2020 season. However, this long-awaited release has been met with mixed results.
Many lawmakers and industry leaders are happy that the federal government has finally put out regulations for hemp. First, they see this as a dramatic shift from the era of prohibition, alone a cause for celebration. Others see the certainty that we are going to have regulations put in place means that the industry will start to grow and develop at a much faster pace. It is certainly true that the future is extremely bright for hemp. But other farmers and individuals have expressed concerns with some of the regulation’s details.
The “0.3% THC” limit, which delineates the difference between legal “hemp” and illegal “marijuana”, may be too stringent for some growers. They report that a mature hemp plant will have a THC content that will vary from day to day, including some spikes over the 0.3% limit. The new regulations require strict testing to be done prior to harvest, and if the resulting THC content is too high, the entire crop must be destroyed. This may cause farmers to harvest before true maturity, leading to a decrease in the potency or effectiveness of the CBD derived from such a harvest.
The regulations also allow the states to develop their own plans and submit them for approval. Some are concerned that some states may try to infringe on the interstate commerce occurring there, which could cause all kinds of problems and complications for the industry. Still others are worried that the method for disposing of “hot crops” requires just a little too much DEA involvement, which could also cause disruption or have a chilling effect on growth.
It is clear that these regulations are a good step in the right direction. It’s also clear that this is just the beginning, and there is still plenty of room for improvement. The USDA announced a 60-day window for submitting public comments, and then they will consider any suggestions, and then publish a final rule in the future. I encourage you to read the regulations or a summary of them. I encourage you to think about how you would be affected by these rules, and what suggestions you may have. Speak to an expert about how you can do your part to improve the landscape of the industry for the future.
Submit public comments here:
https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=AMS_FRDOC_0001-1919
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