UK Medical Cannabis Program Would Be Worth £1.2 Billion

11/29/2021

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Broad medical cannabis legalization in the U.K. could be worth 1.2 billion pounds and create 41,437 new industry jobs and about 17,000 ancillary jobs, according to a Volteface report. The report, “New Leaf: Beyond Brexit, Countering Covid,” includes a variety of recommendations for the industry, including the appointment of a “Cannabis Czar” or government agency to oversee the industry, which the group claims would speed development.

“At the moment, regulatory matters must be processed through the Home Office. This is slowing down development due to a lack of a streamlined approach. A governmental body reserved for cannabinoid regulation, licensing and innovation funding is a necessary step towards further harmonizing development in the sector.” — “New Leaf: Beyond Brexit, Countering Covid”

The report clarifies that under the current regime, customs and other legislative bodies slow down supply and increase costs and, were the processes “simplified,” costs would be reduced and patient access would be improved.

The report suggests officials provide regulatory “clarity” around the amount of THC permitted in CBD-only products and proposes “such regulatory clarity” be done “in a way to ensure it encourages further investment and innovation.” Additionally, Voltface calls for allowing THC percentage above 0.2% and as much as 1% for hemp seed varieties, which the group claims “would improve the health of the plant and increase the yield of CBD per acre” while not affecting the end product, which could still have undetectable levels of THC.

Moreover, the report suggests changes to the current, very limited, medical cannabis program, including amending regulations that require specialist physicians to recommend medical cannabis to patients. Voltface recommends allowing all physicians to be permitted to prescribe medical cannabis after they complete a Continuing Professional Development course.

“Ensuring that all doctors can prescribe medical cannabis is a huge and achievable win,” the report says. “The U.K. should follow in Germany’s footsteps in regards to how quickly the sector can grow if allowed. The U.K. should aim to help private patients achieve reimbursement on insurance.”

The organization also asserts that the only way to “fully unlock” the potential of the U.K. medical cannabis market is to “increase the evidence base for cannabis-based medicinal products … in order to expand patient access on the [National Health Service.]”

Daniel Pryor, head of programs for Adam Smith Institute, wrote in the report foreword that “widening patient access” remains the “elephant in the room” for medical cannabis in the U.K.

“The only way of successfully achieving this would be through a government-funded national trial,” the report says. “Forming strategic partnerships with well-regarded U.K. medical establishments is essential in bringing cannabis medicines into the mainstream medical ecosystem.”

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United Arab Emirates to Relax Drug Penalties

11/29/2021

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The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is relaxing penalties for travelers who arrive in the country with products containing THC, opting instead for confiscation of the food and drink products for first-time offenders, instead of incarceration, the Associated Press reports. The reforms were published Sunday in the UAE’s official gazette and take effect on January 2.

The new rules also reduce minimum sentences for first-time drug offenders from two years to three months and offer convicts rehabilitation at a detention facility separate from other prisoners. The new law also leaves the decision as to whether to deport foreigners caught with drugs up to the judge, rather than to automatically deport them.

In an editorial, The National described the reforms as part of “the biggest change to UAE laws in history” which were sparked by the 50th anniversary of the country’s founding.

“It is important to put these developments in their wider context; the past year has seen a flurry of reforms. In November of last year, new laws decriminalized suicide, changed regulations on alcohol consumption and boosted women’s rights, among others.” — The National Editorial Board, Nov. 28, 2021

The criminal justice reforms include a minimum of six months in prison for individuals who repeat offenses within three years and a two-year minimum for third-time offenders.

Ahmed Ibrahim Saif, senior judge at the Dubai Civil Court and former chief justice of Dubai’s Criminal Courts, told The National that the changes reflect prioritizing reform and are in line with the UAE’s principles.

“…Offenders are given second chances and are spared the loss of successful futures and decent living they have in the country,” he said.

The prison term for drug trafficking — a minimum of five years — remains in place.

 

 

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Malawi Sparks Controversy by Asking Mike Tyson to Serve as Cannabis Ambassador

11/29/2021

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Officials in Malawi have asked former professional boxer turned cannabis entrepreneur Mike Tyson to serve as the nation’s cannabis ambassador, MMA News reports. The request comes after Malawi legalized medical cannabis last year but also comes with backlash due to Tyson’s 1992 conviction for rape, for which he served three years in prison before being released on parole.

Malawi’s Minister of Gender, Patricia Kaliati, told CNN that the government’s request to the former heavyweight champion is “about business” and the “economic business of cannabis.”

“We look for the prominent people, the decision makers who can say a thing which can be recognized internationally.” — Kaliati to CNN

Kondwani Munthali, acting director of the Malawian think tank, the Centre for Public Accountability (CPA) — which opposes allowing Tyson to serve in the role — said that appointing a convicted rapist would be “wrong.”

“Yes, he paid his debt three years he was in jail, but we are saying to be the face of a nation is something beyond reformatory,” Munthali said in a statement to CNN. “We would want (a) less controversial character than Tyson.”

Ministry of Agriculture spokesperson Gracian Lungu also defended the offer, telling CNN that “Malawi, as a nation, believes that Mr. Tyson is a right and reformed person as he was released on parole.”

“The moral appeal by some quarters, to continue holding Mr. Tyson to a wall of moral incapacity doesn’t hold water,” Lungu added.

Tyson has not yet publicly responded to the offer from the Malawi government.

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South Dakota Supreme Court Strikes Down Voter-Approved Legalization Initiative

11/26/2021

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The South Dakota Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled against the state’s successful cannabis legalization voter initiative, the Associated Press reports.

Officially, the high court upheld a lower court’s February ruling that the initiative, which sought to legalize the plant through a constitutional amendment, violated a state requirement that constitutional amendments can only address a single topic. The initiative had been worded to legalize and regulate three new industries — adult-use cannabis, medical cannabis, and industrial hemp — which the courts interpreted as three separate issues.

“It is clear that Amendment A contains provisions embracing at least three separate subjects, each with distinct objects or purposes.” — Chief Justice Steven Jensen, in the majority opinion

The effort to overturn the initiative only came after 54% of voters cast their votes in favor of legalization and was spearheaded by Gov. Kristi Noem (R), who opposed the reforms.

Matthew Schweich, cannabis advocate and campaign director for South Dakotans for Better Marijuana Laws, described the ruling in a statement as “a disrespectful assumption that South Dakota voters were intellectually incapable of understanding the initiative.”

“The court has rejected common sense and instead used a far-fetched legal theory to overturn a law passed by over 225,000 South Dakota voters based on no logical or evidentiary support,” he said.

During last year’s election, voters also overwhelmingly approved a separate initiative to establish a medical cannabis program — the implementation of which is already underway.

South Dakota activists, meanwhile, are already preparing a renewed legalization effort for next year’s ballot. Additionally, state lawmakers are likely to consider a cannabis legalization bill in the coming legislative session.

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VA Secretary Expresses Need for Medical Cannabis Reforms

11/26/2021

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The Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) Denis McDonough said that although the agency does not allow its physicians to discuss medical cannabis with Veterans, VA officials have discussed the need for policy changes and shared this with the White House, Marijuana Moment reports.

At a Veterans Day Q&A session, McDonough was asked a question by a Marine Corp Veteran who said medical cannabis often works better than pharmaceuticals for treating conditions like pain and PTSD. The Secretary responded by revealing the VA is “looking into” policy changes. He then shared a story about a veteran who felt he was only alive because of his service dog and cannabis.

“It was very profound,” McDonough remarked.

“We’re trying to explore what more we can do. And I’ve talked to our friends in the rest of the federal government, including the Department of Justice, on what we can do on this, and with the White House.” — Denis McDonough via Marijuana Moment

However, he dashed some cold water on the remarks, saying he was not in a position to make the change to allow VA doctors to recommend medical cannabis for veterans due to the plant’s designation as a Schedule I narcotic.

“Right now under current law and current policy, we cannot be in a position to get those [medical marijuana] cards to veterans,” the secretary said. “In order to get to a point where we would give those cards, we’re going to need both a change of policy, which I’m looking at, as well as a change in law.”

Despite the Secretary’s expressed sympathies with veterans who use medical cannabis in the Q&A, the VA opposed recent access and research reforms passed by the House Veterans Affairs Committee on the grounds the legislation was “overly prescriptive” and the VA was already doing research into medical cannabis, according to the report.

McDonough did not speak to specific legislation but concluded his remarks on a positive note. “Let’s make sure that we’re addressing the range of options that our veterans know can work for them without falling into the trap on pharmaceuticals,” he said.

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Native and Indigenous-Owned Cannabis Brands Thrive Despite Regulatory Obstacles

11/26/2021

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Most Americans are taught in elementary school that Native Americans and colonizing European pilgrims feasted together jovially on the first Thanksgiving, and that we recreate that tradition each year with our own Thanksgiving family feasts. The truth is that the first Thanksgiving was an accidental gathering. Pilgrims were shooting muskets to celebrate their first harvest and members of the Wampanoag tribe arrived prepared for war. When realizing that the gunshots were celebratory, the Wampanoag stayed for a tense meal to maintain peace. Some Wampanoag members regard the day referred to as “Thanksgiving” as a National Day of Mourning. These truths are an essential part of American history, and recognizing them is just one way to honor the Indigenous peoples who have stewarded this land for generations.

When cannabis prohibition began to lift and the industry opened up, many tribes and those who lived on reservations were left out of the legislation. For example, the 2014 Farm Bill granted states the right to set up hemp pilot programs but did not grant the same authority to American Indian Tribes. Under the 2018 Farm Bill, which federally legalized the crop, tribes still had to wait for USDA regulations before they could begin building hemp programs. This gave other businesses a head start on capturing the market share and establishing their hemp agriculture infrastructure. The same lack of representation is an issue in Canada as well: as of September 2021, only 5% of the Canadian cannabis market was Indigenous-owned. Despite the lack of Indigenous representation, there are still Indigenous-owned retail shops, cultivations, CBD companies, and testing labs on Turtle Island. Some state legislatures, like Washington and Nevada, have opened up the cannabis industry to tribal business but there is a long way to go in making cannabis business more accessible to Indigenous people.

Chenae Bullock is a member of the Shinnecock Nation and the Managing Director of Little Beach Harvest, the tribe’s cannabis retail store that chose to open through a partnership with TILT.

“Building partnerships as a tribal business takes work on creating change on how tribal communities are viewed. For far too long, we have been purposely hidden and talked about in the past tense, making it a challenge for many to see we are leaders in what we set forth in. Once that view changes, we are looked at as equal partners and business can thrive.” — Chenae Bullock, Managing Director of Little Beach Harvest

In hope that you will shop Indigenous whenever possible, we’ve put together a list of cannabis industry businesses that are owned by Native tribes, owned by tribal members, and some that are owned by tribes in partnership with larger cannabis brands.

These stores have been pulled from various sources including InclusiveBase, the cannabis PoC directory. Before they were added here, the following businesses were vetted to ensure that they were Indigenous-owned. Some companies are owned by tribes, some operate on reservations while others do not. We’ve displayed the relevant information for each business — scroll down to find Indigenous-owned cannabis retailers, cultivation sites, testing labs, CBD brands, and industry partnerships.

Retail

  • Agate Dreams // Port Madison Indian Reservation
    Agate Dreams is a retail cannabis shop operated by the Suquamish Evergreen Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Port Madison Enterprises, an agency of the Suquamish Tribe.
  • Cedar Greens // S’Kllalam Territory – Sequim, Washington
    This store is owned by the Jamestown S’Kllalam tribe, a band of the S’kllalam people who purchased 210-acres along the Strait of Juan de Fuca where they continue to preserve and enhance the Jamestown S’Kllalam Nation’s cultural identity.
  • Commencement Bay Cannabis // Occupied Coast Salish & Puyallup Land – Fife & Tacoma, Washington
    The Commencement Bay chain of stores is owned by the Puyallup Tribe.
  • Elevation // Occupied Squaxin, Coast Salish land – Shelton, Washington
    This store is owned by The Squaxin Island Tribe who have compiled this Native American etiquette for those who are visiting.
  • High Point Cannabis // Occupied Suquamish, Coast Salish land – Kingston, Washington.
    This cannabis dispensary is owned by the Port Gamble band of the S’Kllalam tribe.
  • Joint Rivers // Occupied Coast Salish, Muckleshoot land – Auburn, Washington
    This store is operated by the Muckleshoot Tribe which is made up of Duwamish and Upper Puyallup people, the name Muckleshoot comes from the prairie on which the reservation was established, the tribe was then referred to by the name of the prairie rather than their historic tribal names.
  • Remedy Tulalip // Tulalip territory – Tulalip, Washington
    The government set up a reservation in Tulalip for the Snohomish, Snoqualmie, Skykomish, and other allied tribes and bands signatory to the Treaty of Point Elliot. Tulalip is one of the Coast Salish Tribes of Puget Sound and the tribe owns Remedy Tulalip.
  • Salish Coast Cannabis // Occupied territories of the Samish, Coast Salish, Sauk Suiattle, Skagit, and Hul-qumi-num treaty group – Anacortes, Washington
    This shop is owned and operated by the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community.
  • Elwha Peaks // Occupied Coast Salish, S’Kllalam land – Port Angeles, Washington
    Elwha Peaks is wholly owned and operated by the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, all revenues from the store go to supporting the betterment of the tribe through infrastructure, education, and similar initiatives.
  • Mountain Source Dispensary // Iipay Nation tribal lands – Santa Ysabel, California.
    This shop is owned by the Iipay Nation tribal lands a band of the Kumeyaay Nation.
  • Oak Creek Dispensary // Numu (Northern Paiute) territory – Independence, California
    Oak Creek dispensary is owned by the Fort Independence tribe of Paiute Indians who are indigenous to the area. The tribe also owns Oak Creek Farm.
  • Long Lodge Tribal Enterprises // Occupied Tongva (Gabrielino) land – Costa Mesa, California
    The link above goes to the Long Lodge Twitter account which states that first the dispensary was shut down due to damage from police raids on illegal operations in the same business park as their regulated business. In the wake of this the brand moved to delivery, which has now been shut down by city regulators.
  • Little Beach Harvest // Shinnecock nation territory – South Hampton, New York
    This cannabis store is owned by the Shinnecock tribe in partnership with TILT and will be open soon.
  • Nabodoka Dispensary // Numu (Norther Paiute territory) Lovelock, Nevada – Northern Paiute territory
    The Lovelock Paiute nation owns Nabodoka dispensary. They view the human to cannabis relationship as one of mutualism where the plant ally provides for the people and the people put love in to the cannabis.
  • NeWe Cannabis // Newe (Western Shoshone) land – Elko, Nevada
    This shop is owned and operated by the Elko Band Colony of the Te-Moak Tribe of Western Shoshone Indians.
  • NuWu // Newe (Western Shoshone) land – Las Vegas, Nevada
    NuWu is a huge store with a modern design, smoking lounge, and drive thru window owned by the Las Vegas Paiute Tribe.
  • Pesha’ Numma // Yerington Paiute Tribe Colony – Yerington, Nevada
    Pesha’ Numma is owned and operated by the Yerington Paiute Tribe Colony, they have provided donations to local organization, Native American Domestic Violence, the Yerington Food Bank, and more.
  • Tsaa Nesunkwa Dispensary // Shoshone tribal land – Ely, Nevada
    The Ely Shoshone tribe runs Tsar Nesunkwa dispensary for the betterment of their people, money earned is put back into food drives, toy drives, and other fundraisers.
  • Water Canyon Dispensary // Numu (Northern Paiute) territory – Winnemucca, Nevada
    This store is owned by the Winnemucca Indian Colony.
  • Green Chief Naturals // Mohawk land – Cornwall Island, Ontario
  • Seven Leaf // Located on Akwesasne Mohawk land, known as Ontario.
    The Canadian dispensary is run by Mohawk executive leadership.

Cultivation

  • Red Market Brand // Canada
  • Native Humboldt // Whilkut territory – Humboldt, California
  • La Vida Ranchera – The Botanical Joint // Yokuts territory – Fresno, California
  • Tokem // Washington
  • Native Seed Co. // Ohlone territory – California
    Native Seed Co. is owned by a husband and wife team who have recently experienced severe trauma: Robbie was in a car accident while transporting Advanced Nutrients products that contain lye. The container exploded and he suffered a chemical burn to 30% of his body, primarily in his face and eyes. If you can support his uninsured recovery, there is a GoFundMe set up by friends of the family.

Testing

  • Medicine Creek Analytics // Puyallup tribal land – Fife, Washington

Extraction

CBD

  • Nice Hemp Co. // Gabrielino-Tongva, Kizh, and Chumash lands – Los Angeles, California
  • MaatRa // Online Nationwide
  • Canndigenous // Kiikaapoi (Kickapoo) tribal land – Cambridge, Wisconsin
  • Niota by Ho-Chunk Farms // Winnebago Reservation
    Niota is crafted and sold by the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska whose traditional name is Hochungra which is shortened to Ho-Chunk.
  • White Plume Hemp Company // Pine Ridge Reservation
    Building a CBD brand is a dream of Alex White Plume which he believes will invigorate the tribes who are settled in South Dakota. Donate to this dream here.

Partnerships

  • Indigenous Bloom // Ten locations in Kanata – Canada
    These stores are owned by First Nations tribes and Veritas in partnerships that give tribes 51% equity in the store. Indigenous Bloom employs approximately 200 people, 60 percent of whom are Indigenous.
  • Lume // Michigan
    Vertically integrated Lume Cannabis Co. works with individual Native American tribes in Michigan to lease stores on tribal land.

Note: Land acknowledgments and other tribal information in this article were sourced from Native-Land.ca followed by researching the individual tribes, typically through official tribe websites.

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Stündenglass Gravity Hookah Review

11/26/2021

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Some of my fondest cannabis memories start with a clean, water-filled trash can and an empty two-liter bottle. At this point, I’m sure some readers are furrowing their brows, wondering what in the heck I’m talking about — what I’m talking about, dear reader, is a gravity bong. The bottle cap would have a little bowl piece affixed to it that flowed into the 2-liter bottle with the bottom cut out. The open end of the bottle is submerged in water up to the neck, as you light the bowl the smoke fills and lifts the bottle out of the water. Once full, we’d unscrew the cap and inhale while pushing the bottle down into the water. Oftentimes, I’d end up with a mouthful of questionable water with my hit. Even so, there wasn’t anything like it so I always accepted a GT, or “gravity toke,” when it was offered.

Enter Stündenglass Gravity Hookah: the luxury counterpart to the tried and true 2-liter bottle set-up. A quick web search will show Reddit threads expounding how the Stündenglass is overrated and overpriced, that it just chugs and inevitably wastes cannabis. Many have seen a video of Seth Rogen absolutely biffing a hit from a prototype of the gravity hookah which made the rounds a few years ago. Despite the negative reviews from Reddit weed bros, I had to find out for myself whether this seemingly genius device was worth its weight.

When the box arrived I was overwhelmed by all of the pieces but the directions were simple. With some diligent reading, I was able to get the device up and running in mere moments. Using the piece is just as easy, the first step is to load the ground flower into the bowl piece. Then I hover the fire over the herb and tip the 360° glass bulbs over, which pulls the flame down into the bowl. Once cherried, the hookah will keep the flower going so just wait and watch the glass fill with milky smoke. Here is another point of Reddit contention, many commented on the color of the smoke in the Seth Rogen video. It was yellow and ominous, the type of smoke that you know will give you deep, painful coughs. Maybe it was the size of the bowl he packed, the quality of the weed he loaded, or the fact that he kept the flame right on top of the bowl the entire time; but my smoke was always a delightful, milky white.

I used the bowl piece to smoke ground flower from my neighborhood shop, but there is also an aluminum bowl attachment that is designed for hookah coals. I found the experience to be delightful, but my preferred method of smoking is a 1-2 foot beaker bong so I prefer a piece that chugs a little bit. To gauge the spectrum of cannabis smokers, I had a few friends try it as well, which led to mixed results. My intermediate friend coughed a lot and took way too big of a hit on accident, but soon we discovered the ability to stop the smoke by turning the piece to the side. This is a real game-changer, especially when you’re seshing with your vaxxed friends. My micro-dose friend would just take sips and give me the rest of the rip, so I may not recommend the full-sized Stündenglass for people who smoke very rarely or only in small amounts.

A lot of reviewers claim that this type of device is meant for college life where the aim of smoking pot is to get super tanked and watch 4 hours of How Did This Get Made, but I simply don’t agree. There is always the option to pack a smaller bowl or stop the smoke halfway through and share, you don’t have to take a monstrous hit every time you rip the Stüudenglass. And for those like my micro-dosing friend who need a less voluminous option, there is now the Stündenglass Kompact which features one-third of the smoke volume and comes in a compact travel case.

It’s not a secret after that review, I really dig the Stündenglass Gravity Hookah. In my experience as a bong-ripping, long-time cannabis enthusiast, it’s an efficient way to soothe the most clenched mind. The biggest barrier for this piece is the price, which doesn’t get any smaller with the smaller unit. But if you’re in the market for a well-engineered high ticket item that hits hard, then this is the one for you. And for those interested, on Friday, November 26, Stündenglass is offering 10% off the original, Cookies, and Dr. Greenthumb Gravity Hookahs.

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Marvin Washington’s ‘5th Quarter’ TV Series Hopes to Normalize Cannabis Medicine for Athletes

11/26/2021

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Super Bowl champion Marvin Washington is the host of the brand new show “5th Quarter,” which starts streaming today, November 16, on CannactedTV from 420MEDIA. In the cannabis-focused series, Marvin speaks with fellow former football players and contact sport athletes, cannabis nurses, mothers, and medical practitioners about the benefits of using cannabis plant medicine.

Former defensive end Marvin Washington spoke with us about the new interview series over Zoom, “Listen, we’ve medicated with this for thousands of years, let’s get back to it. This is the way we’ve medicated from the shaman to the witch doctor to the medicine men in Asia, this is what we’ve medicated with: things that came from the earth.”

Marvin has been filming the interviews featured in the “5th Quarter” since 2016 and he is excited to finally share them with the world. He is most looking forward to the first episode, which features a one-on-one interview with Boo Williams, a former NFL tight end whose story is one of difficulty that eventually leads to triumph. Boo suffered a close contact head injury that sent his life into turmoil before seeking treatment for chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). American football players, hockey players, and boxers are more susceptible to repeated concussions, the cause of CTE, but there is still very little awareness about this issue.

“If the NFL wants continually grow their game, if the NFL wants to take their game across the pond to Europe, I think it’s going to have to change. Because you can’t be exporting the game where you’re going to give the players who play it a brain disease, and so the game has to get safer. All sports evolve… but, if football wants to remain the number one sport in the world… they’re going to have to make the game safer,” said Marvin.

Boo ultimately fell into a spiral of CTE symptoms including memory loss, confusion, impulse control problems, anxiety, depression, and suicidality. After being rescued from a suicide attempt, he sought out The Crosby Clinic. At the clinic, he realized smoking cannabis had been helping him with CTE symptoms over the years. He didn’t know his recreational smoke was functioning medicinally until detoxing off of everything at the clinic. In the premiere episode, Marvin goes in-depth into Boo’s story where we learned to understand how cannabis medicine worked for him with the help from his doctor.

This compelling story is just the beginning of the educational “5th Quarter” series that explores the possibilities of cannabis sports medicine and how we can adapt the game of football to better value athletes’ brain health. After speaking with Marvin Washington, it was clear that he loves football and he values his fellow players, which is precisely why the “5th Quarter” is so important to him. Many of his fellow football players, and many contact sport athletes in general, will struggle with CTE in their lifetime. We’ve lost some treasured CTE-diagnosed athletes to suicide already, so if cannabis medicine can help with maintaining brain health or dealing with symptoms, then it should be explored by all of the major leagues.

“5th Quarter” shows viewers exactly how cannabis medicine can be merged with sports medicine. In addition to no longer vilifying athletes for using cannabis, Marvin believes that there’s room for rule changes in the NFL to lower the risk of head injury. This notion isn’t unheard of — in 1906 there were safety changes made to reduce the risk of death by banning the flying wedge maneuver, legalizing the forward pass, and creating a neutral zone between the lines. These changes can be made again to create more longevity for a game that is already seeing huge drops in youth participation.

“I can see the evolution of football where they back the linemen off the ball like they do in Canada, and they go from a 2-point stand and even make the field wider. That’s going to cut down on those head-to-head, in-the-scrum type of hits that we’ve grown up being used to,” explains Marvin, “This is not going to be your father’s NFL or my father’s NFL. It’s going to be a different NFL, it’s still going to be blocking and tackling but it’s going to be safe.”

Marvin Washington, host of Cannected TV’s new “5th Quarter” docuseries.

With the addition of natural cannabis medicine, the consideration of rules that cut down on head-to-head bashing, and more CTE awareness amongst fans, coaches, team owners, and players; Marvin believes the NFL has a prosperous future that could extend across the pond. However, the dream is not possible with the game of football, as-is. Hopefully, “5th Quarter” can open more eyes to the possibilities for playing contact sports without the risk of head injury. CTE isn’t the focus of every episode but it is a theme woven throughout the series. Marvin’s passion for the plant is clear in the first episode, and we look forward to seeing who he speaks with next.

To watch “5th Quarter” and other cannabis content, download the Cannacted TV app from 420MEDIA on your phone or smart TV.

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Florida Bill Would Regulate Delta-8 and Overhaul Medical Cannabis

11/24/2021

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A bill in Florida would place strict limits on THC potency of synthetic and hemp extracts, such as delta-8 THC, and include other reforms to the state’s medical cannabis law, Florida Politics reports. The bill’s sponsors, Democratic Rep. Andrew Learned and Republican Rep. Spencer Roach describe the proposal as the “first major update” to the state’s medical cannabis statute since voters approved the reforms five years ago.

“We are working to deliver significant cost savings for patients, make the program more user-friendly and at the same time ensure safety for both patients and our children.” — Learned in a statement via Florida Politics

Under the proposal, sales of hemp products designed for consumption, including delta-8 products, would only be permitted to individuals 21-and-older.

Additionally, the measure would increase the terms of medical cannabis patient licenses and the time between required doctor appointments, which the bill sponsors say combined would cut an estimated 60% of the cost of participation in the medical cannabis program.

It would also remove physician appointments for medical cannabis patient recertification under specific guidelines, allow recertification via telehealth, end the practice of selling medical cannabis dispensary licenses for monetary gain, create new industry testing requirements, and increase the transparency of state regulations.

Under the proposal, the course required by Florida for physicians that recommend medical cannabis would triple from two to six hours.

The bill also includes a ban on cannabis-related advertising that markets to children but would still allow physicians and dispensaries to advertise online, provided that the ads are approved by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, and is not a pop-up ad. The ads must also not promote “recreational use” of cannabis.

The measure would also prohibit dispensaries or individuals with 5% or more of the voting share of a center from employing or having an economic interest in a doctor’s practice or cannabis testing lab and outlaw testing labs and their officers, directors, and employees from having “direct or indirect” economic interests or financial relationships with dispensaries.

It would also create a new oversight agency – the Medical Marijuana Testing Advisory Council – which would be tasked with providing input on industry testing policies and standards and issue an annual report recommending ways to prevent cannabis-related traffic infractions and accidents, the application of drug-free workplace policies, and testing standards.

The bill was introduced on Monday but has not yet been moved to any committee.

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Michigan Testing Lab Sues Cannabis Regulators Over Massive Recall

11/24/2021

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The Michigan cannabis testing laboratory that had products it tested over the last three months recalled is suing the state Marijuana Regulatory Agency (MRA) claiming the recall was “was unjustified, prejudiced and retaliatory.”

David Russell, an attorney with Foster, Swift, Collins & Smith, P.C. which is representing Viridis Laboratories, said in a statement that the recall “is the latest and most egregious action by the MRA in a prolonged campaign of harassment” aimed at his client.

The recall — the most sweeping in state history — was announced on November 17 and represents an estimated $229 million in cannabis products, the law firm said in a press release.

Kevin Blair, an attorney with Honigman, LLP, which is also serving as counsel for Viridis, said the MRA “disregarded industry experts, widely accepted scientific practices, caused disruption through its reckless and arbitrary decision-making, and ultimately put the patients and consumers it is charged with protecting at risk.”

“There is no public health or safety risk justifying the recall at all, and we respectfully request the Court to provide relief to Viridis and bring accountability and oversight to an agency that has far exceeded its authority.” — Blair in a statement

The complaint, filed Monday in the Michigan Court of Claims, contends that the MRA violated state law and its own administrative rules by “effectively shutting down” Viridis’ Lansing and Bay City labs without following procedures which “mandate licensees must have an opportunity to present their case to an administrative law judge.”

“It appears the MRA has deliberately circumvented those well-established procedures in hopes of avoiding any oversight at all,” the lawyers wrote in a press release.

The complaint also alleges that regulators “problematically involved Viridis’ competitors in its investigation;” knew of the results of competitors’ audit tests at least three weeks before the recall; refused input from experts who said the recall was unwarranted and that the MRA rationale was flawed, and moved the goalposts when Viridis tried to rectify the situation.

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St. Louis Officials Pass Cannabis Decriminalization Bill

11/24/2021

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The St. Louis, Missouri Board of Aldermen on Tuesday approved a measure to decriminalize possession of up to 35 grams of cannabis and paraphernalia. The bill moves next to Mayor Tishaura Jones who supports the reforms.

“A huge pillar of my administration is writing historic wrongs. That means addressing tough issues like our city’s outdated marijuana laws that are unfair, unnecessary, and discriminatory. In the past three years, nearly 600 people in St. Louis City were arrested for marijuana-related charges. Of those individuals almost 500 were Black ” Jones said in a video posted to Twitter.

Jones adds that 82% of St. Louis voters backed the state’s medical cannabis ballot question.

“Let me be clear: incarcerating people for marijuana-related, low-level, offenses does not make our neighborhoods safer,” she said in the video. “Needless contact with the prison system harms families and communities across our city.”

The bill also includes language preventing cannabis from being used as the basis for a warrantless search by law enforcement and includes provisions to no longer include cannabis testing as part of the hiring process for most city positions.

In an interview with KSDK, Alderman Bret Narayan, the bill’s sponsor, said the measure has the buy-in from both the city public safety director and the director of personnel.

Missouri NORML’s Dan Viets said that while the bill repeals local ordinances, “police still have the option to pursue charges under state law.” He added that the organization is collecting 170,000 signatures to get a statewide legalization vote on the November 2022 ballot.

In April, the St. Louis County Council approved a similar bill, as did the Maplewood City Council. In September, the Kansas City Council ended pre-employment drug screenings for cannabis for most city jobs.

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Ohio Cannabis Reforms to Move Forward by Bill or Ballot

11/24/2021

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Activists in Ohio say they nearly have enough signatures to force the legislature to pass an adult-use cannabis bill or put an adult-use cannabis initiative on the 2022 ballot, the Ohio Capital-Journal reports.

Known in Ohio as an initiated statute, the Ohio Ballot Board gave organizers within the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol permission to move forward with gathering signatures in August. The process requires activists to gather 133,000 signatures. Once enough signatures are gathered and validated by state officials, the legislature has four months to act on the proposal. If they fail to pass the bill, the measure to cultivate, process, and distribute adult-use cannabis will appear in 2022 as a ballot initiative, the report says.

Speaking at the Ohio State University law school’s Drug Enforcement and Policy Center, attorney Thomas Haren, a representative of the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, said the group would have the required number of signatures by the end of the month.

“We think that marijuana reform is popular. It’s not a bipartisan issue. It’s a nonpartisan issue.” — Haren via the Journal

The proposal would allow Ohioans to possess up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis and 15 grams of cannabis extract. Ohioans over 21-years-old would be allowed to purchase cannabis at retail locations and grow two plants at home per person, with a cap of four per household, according to the Journal report.

Ohio House Rep. Casey Weinstein (D) noted there has been a “tipping point” in the U.S. and the time to climb aboard was “yesterday.”

Earlier this month, a NORML/Gallup poll found support for legalizing cannabis at an all-time high of 68%. That poll may have prompted Weinstein to describe Ohio’s cannabis law as “a situation where we’re behind where Ohioans are.”

He said the initiated statute may provide a greater sense of “urgency” for the legislature to act.

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New York MTA Bans Cannabis Advertising

11/23/2021

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All cannabis-related advertising is explicitly prohibited under newly-released New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) guidelines. It’s the first time the agency has included a cannabis advertising ban in its regulations as the state only approved its legalization bill in April.

The MTA covers advertising on New York City subways and buses.

The proposal was included in a summary of the November 2021 MTA board meeting as a response “to the recent developments in the decriminalization of cannabis” in the Empire State. The guidelines also include a ban on “hallucinogenic mushrooms or hallucinogenic mushroom-related product(s).” Psilocybin possession and use remain a criminal offense in New York; however, in nearby New Jersey, Gov. Phil Murphy signed a bill in February reducing penalties for the possession of psilocybin mushrooms. The reforms did not legalize adult-use or therapeutic use of such products in the state.

In March, a bill was introduced to decriminalize psychedelic mushrooms in New York. That bill remains in the House Health Committee.

The MTA advertising rules have banned tobacco and alcohol ads from sectors it oversees since 2017.

The new rules also include a ban on sex-related ads, including “sex toys,” and “sexual enhancement products” and prohibits any ad that “depicts, references, or contains symbols or images reasonably understood to represent or evoke feces, urine, semen, orgasms, erections or Sexual Activity, excluding kissing,” the guidelines state. Those changes stem from a lawsuit challenging why the MTA could prevent an ad promoting sex products but allow ads for an erectile dysfunction medication.

The new rules took effect on November 17.

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MSO Set to Acquire Chicago’s Last Independent Dispensary

11/23/2021

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Florida-based cannabis company Ayr Wellness on Monday announced it will acquire Illinois-based Gentle Ventures, LLC, which owns and operates Dispensary 33, in a $55 million deal. Dispensary 33 has two locations in Chicago in the Anderson and West Loop neighborhoods.

Jonathan Sandelman, founder, chairman, and CEO of Ayr, said in a statement the deal builds on the company’s “existing foundation” in the state, which Sandelman said Ayr “began building just a few months ago” when the company announced an agreement to acquire Herbal Remedies Dispensaries, LLC, which operates two dispensaries in Quincy, for $30 million.

Sandelman also noted that its social equity partner, Land of Lincoln, had been recently selected for a dispensary license in Bloomington.

“In any market where we operate, our goal is to develop scale and meaningful presence,” Sandelman said in a press release.

Dispensary 33 had been the last independent operator in the Windy City, according to a Chicago Sun-Times report. Bryan Zises, Dispensary 33’s co-owner, said the company has passed up on about a dozen other offers from multistate operators before deciding to sell to Ayr.

The company was also the city’s first medical cannabis dispensary, according to the Sun-Times.

“This offer that we’ve accepted wasn’t the highest price, but it was the best fit for what we believe is in the best interest of the people that work for us and for the city as a whole. We did not think that we would find a partner who was a good fit, and so we were prepared to go it alone for as long as necessary. But this was really a partner who made us feel very comfortable about their approach and what they want to do.” — Zises to the Sun Times

Ayr currently has dispensaries in Arizona, Florida, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, according to the company’s website.

The deal to purchase Gentle Ventures is expected to consist of $55 million upfront, including $12 million in cash, $3 million in sellers notes, and $40 million of stock, the company said in the announcement. An earnout is payable if certain adjusted EBITDA performance is achieved through the third quarter of 2022.

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Alabama Medical Cannabis Patients Allowed to Purchase 60-Day Supply 

11/23/2021

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Medical cannabis patients in Alabama will be allowed to purchase up to 60 days’ worth of cannabis products at a time and legally possess up to 70 days’ worth, state Medical Cannabis Commission Member Sam Blackmore told the agency last week, according to the Alabama Political Reporter. The program will include maximum doses of 75 milligrams of THC per day for adults and a 3% THC maximum potency for minors.

Blackmore indicated, though, that those limits could be adjusted on a per-patient basis.

“Neurologists treat to effect. When it comes to products, you’re going to treat to an effect, not to a packaged labeling. Practicing neurologists would submit in writing why they are exceeding the maximum dose.” — Blackmore, to the commission, via the Political Reporter

Blackmore said that the correct dose for patients is the “lowest that produces a therapeutic benefit without associated adverse events.”

During the presentation, Blakemore said that topical THC creams were the cheapest per unit at $1.13 per milliliter, with the typical package containing 30 milliliters, while sublingual sprays were at the other end of the spectrum at $3.89 per milliliter, which makes the standard 15-milliliter package run $58.29. Capsules available in medical cannabis programs throughout the U.S. averaged $1.39 each, while lozenges cost $1.33 each.

“It’s important not to focus on high-end products, to ensure there are affordable options,” Blakemore said during his remarks. “Price transparency is important. We need to do anything we can to ensure patient affordability, so they’re not just getting certified by a physician and then going back to the black market.”

The commission is still holding meetings on rules and regulations for Alabama’s medical cannabis program. Its next meeting is set for December 9.

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Introducing CILICON’S Solution to the Vape Spitback Problem: The BioBaleen Module

11/23/2021

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Nature is full of brilliant solutions to design problems. With the BioBaleen™ Module, Cilicon has adopted the ingenuity of the baleen system used by certain whales to filter their food. The newest addition to Cilicon’s product catalog, the SOLO Pro introduces a new generation of silicone caps to the market. The Bio-Baleen cap uses medical-grade silicon to achieve a safe capping while absorbing oil splashes and reducing spit-back and clogging. The BioBalee Cap combines the traditional cotton filter and the silicone cap into one module, removing the combination process and helping to save time and labor costs. With spitback reduction and a significant reduction in clogging, the BioBaleen™ Module ensures an uninterrupted and pleasurable vaping experience. With this one tiny design change sparked by insight from the natural world, Cilicon has significantly improved the effectiveness of our vaping devices.

The Design Inspiration of the Bio-Baleen Module

The Bio-Baleen Module is inspired directly by the Baleen Whale. One of the hunting techniques used by the Baleen Whale is filtering, which uses hairs similar to the teeth on a comb to filter out water while retaining prey in the whale’s mouth. This filtering method inspired the Bio-Baleen Module’s silica gel brush design implemented on the sealed silica gel cap. The Cilicon design team had already identified spit-back as an industry trouble-point that causes issues for both suppliers and consumers. Cilicon engineers discovered that the silicon cap could reduce spit-back without disrupting the oil or vapor flow by imitating the baleen filtering mechanism. Moreover, they found that compared with combining a layer of filter cotton wrapped around the outer layer of the sealed silicone cover, the production process of employing Biobaleen™ Module is also simplified, reducing labor costs. Starting as an idea to try to apply a natural design phenomenon to the vaping process, the Bio-Baleen Cap has led to several unexpected improvements.

How Does it Work? The Technical Process Behind the BioBaleen™ Module

The key to the BioBaleen™ Module’s reduction of spit back is the soft-touch silicone brush design of the cap. The splashing oil in the tank remains on the silicone brush, stopping it from flowing back through the device. First, the retention of oil in the brush removes the potential for spit-back, as the oil cannot reach through the device into the user’s mouth. Second, the retention of oil prevents the oil from reaching the central tube of the device, drastically reducing the potential for clogging. The result is a vaping experience with no interference, allowing the user to focus on the enjoyment of their oil.

The Advantages of the BioBaleen™ Module

The BioBaleen™ Module provides several benefits for Cilicon distributors and other partners. First of all, the module almost completely solves the issue of escaped oil in the device. The cap absorbs large flying oil droplets, preventing them from blocking the central air pipe and avoiding equipment failure or scrapping. It also combines the traditional silica gel sealing plug and filter cotton into one piece, BioBaleen Silicon Cap, which simplifies the capping process, reducing labor costs. Distributors can be confident that the filling and distribution process will run smoothly and efficiently with these two improvements. Moreover, distributors also benefit from increased consumer satisfaction that results from the advantages that the cap design provides for consumers.

The new cap design provides several significant benefits at the point of consumption. The new cap design’s silicone bristles effectively reduce oil splashes, preventing consumers from inhaling large un-vaporized oil particles. Spit-back is unpleasant and can significantly impact the taste of the device. The new cap ensures that consumers can enjoy the full taste of their oil. In this way, the cap removes one of the most significant barriers to the enjoyment of vaping products that many consumers experience.

Moreover, replacing the traditional cotton filter avoids the inhalation of lint. Lint from cotton filters on standard caps can enter into the lungs, causing potential health complications. The BioBaleen silicon cap removes this potential, leading to a safer experience. Finally, the spit-back reduction also eliminates the potential for clogging, meaning that consumers can enjoy their device uninterrupted, with a steady airflow that does not become weaker over time. With these improvements to the vaping experience, the Bio-Baleen Module presents consumers with a new level of effectiveness in achieving their desired vaping experience.

The BioBaleen™ Module in Action 

The SOLO Pro and the Vision disposable pen are the two newest models from Cilicon Plus and are each equipped with a BioBaleen Silicon Cap. Cilicon will continue to implement this feature in the design of future models. Look out for future Cilicon designs that implement and improve on this feature.

The SOLO Pro
Vision

To find out more about CILICON technologies, please visit our website at https://www.ciliconplus.com/.

About CILICON
CILICON was born with one dream: to improve everyday lives through vaporization technology, with innovation, enthusiasm, and compassion. We tired of inferior product drives out a high-quality product and mess with the market. Therefore, CILICON was founded without compromise on quality, safety, and customer satisfaction. Innovation is in our blood, CILICON derives a game-changing CILICON DESIGNED platform to generate diverse cannabis vaporizer options available for increasing customer brand competitiveness from the crowd. For CILICON, Your Brand Success is Our priority, Your Customer Satisfaction Matters!

For media inquiries: pr@ciliconplus.com

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Massachusetts Adult-Use Sales Reach $2.3B

11/23/2021

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The Massachusetts Cannabis Commission (CCC) announced the state sold $2.3 billion worth of cannabis in the three years since the first adult-use dispensaries opened in 2018, the Boston Herald reports. Voters legalized adult-use cannabis in Massachusetts in 2016.

“That’s a pretty phenomenal number and you know, I think on top of the numbers, one of the things I’m proudest of is just how smooth the rollout has been and the growth of this industry. There’s certainly been some things that have happened along the way, but for the most part, it’s been an extraordinarily smooth rollout and I would compare it favorably to any other state that either preceded us or opened at the same time we did.” — CCC Chairman Steven Hoffman, via the Herald

Since 2017, the state has issued 945 cannabis licenses. According to the CCC, there are 379 (176 open) retailers, 285 (62 open) cultivators, and 218 (55 open) processors in Massachusetts. The CCC gave the green light to 14 independent labs, of which eight have been cleared to begin testing. The state’s adult-use cannabis sector employs more than 17,000 employees, while medical cannabis employs roughly half that, 8,800, according to the report.

Hoffman said that despite these impressive numbers, helping those people who have been disproportionately affected by the war on drugs remains a focus of the CCC, and more work still needs to be done.

“We all recognize we have lots more to do to meet our legislative mandates, to live up to our mission statement, to meet our commitment of making Massachusetts the role model for this industry for the entire country,” Hoffman said. “So we do have a lot of work to do.”

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Report Highlights the Benefits of Centralized Purchasing for Cannabis Brands

11/22/2021

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As a cannabis business grows, the processes for procuring the basic supplies necessary to operate are often left to employees to run manually — as needed, as opposed to on a schedule. The workflows for acquiring things like vape cartridges, custom packaging, receipt rolls, and other ongoing essentials are usually enacted independently of each other, leading to dozens of separate contacts with different suppliers, often with little or no price comparison or competitive shopping.

A recent report published by Negotiatus, a digital procurement platform serving a wide variety of industries, has highlighted the unique benefits that cannabis brands in particular can reap as a result of implementing a centralized purchasing workflow in their business. In preparing the report, Negotiatus compared statistics across multiple different industries and business models to identify where inefficiencies in the procurement process could be reworked to the business owner’s benefit.

“Out of all the industries studied, cannabis businesses had some of the highest savings by purchasing through a digital procurement platform.” — Excerpt from the report

A centralized purchasing platform is a software suite that gives business owners a unified view of the various commodities they need to run their business, allowing them to compare prices and vendors, track shipments, approve purchase orders, and run reports from a single dashboard. When comparing how different industries benefited from integrating centralized purchasing, Negotiatus discovered that cannabis industry brands — specifically those in the process of growing and scaling quickly — saw some of the highest savings reflected in their bottom line.

In this report, Negotiatus takes an in-depth look at the reasons why cannabis businesses are uniquely positioned to benefit from digital procurement, as well as some of the common results they can expect to see after implementing it. The report also includes a detailed cross-comparison of the leading software platforms and features most useful to cannabis brands, and a how-to guide for integrating digital procurement into one’s operations.

The report is currently available for download via Ganjapreneur.com for a limited time: click here to reserve a copy. For more information about Negotiatus and digital procurement for cannabis companies, visit Negotiatus.com.

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Uber Adds Cannabis Ordering Feature in Canada

11/22/2021

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Uber Eats has partnered with cannabis retailer Tokyo Smoke for online cannabis ordering in Ontario, Canada — the company’s first foray into the cannabis industry, Reuters reports. Customers can order cannabis from the Uber Eats app and pick it up at their local Tokyo Smoke shop, the report says.

The Tokyo Smoke option went live on the Uber Eats app Monday morning.

On the possibility of an expansion into more Canadian provinces or in U.S. states that allow cannabis for adult use, an Uber spokesperson told Reuters that the company has “nothing more to share at this time.”

“We will continue to watch regulations and opportunities closely market by market. And as local and federal laws evolve, we will explore opportunities with merchants who operate in other regions.” — An Uber spokesperson via Reuters

In April, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi indicated that the company would eventually get into the cannabis space “when federal laws come into play.” Cannabis is federally legal in Canada, while there are two bills in the U.S. Congress to enact the reforms.

In October, Uber finalized its $1.1 billion deal to acquire on-demand alcohol Drizly. That deal did not include Drizly’s cannabis arm Lantern.

The popularity of cannabis delivery services has been on the rise since the declaration of the coronavirus pandemic on March 13, 2020. In their “State of Cannabis 2020” report, Cannabis delivery company Eaze found a near-60% increase in new customer sign-ups, a 44% increase in the number of first-time deliveries, and 15% and 14% increases in average order size and value, respectively.

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Michigan Recalls Cannabis Products Tested by Viridis Labs Over Three Months

11/22/2021

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The Michigan Marijuana Regulatory Agency (MMRA) has issued a recall for products tested over the past three months by Viridis Laboratories and Viridis North, according to CBS News. Affecting over 400 retail locations around the state, the agency announced the recall after noticing “inaccurate and/or unreliable results.”

Regulators said that everything except for vape cartridges, live resin products, and distillates tested between August 10 and November 16 could be dangerous, with patients who are immuno-compromised or with lung disease facing the greatest potential for harm. The agency asks consumers to be wary of lung infections caused by mold, like aspergillosis, the report says.

The MMRA wants consumers to return covered products to the point of purchase and stores are encouraged to destroy recalled products and provide proof of the destruction, or return the products to the original producer. Viridis Labs says they are “fully cooperating” with the agency.

“While we strongly disagree with this decision and firmly stand by our test results, we are fully cooperating with the MRA and working closely with our customers to minimize interruptions and retest affected products at no cost,” the company’s CEO Greg Michaud told CBS News in a statement.

“We look forward to continuing to serve our amazing customers using the best, most cutting-edge scientific methods available so we can fulfill our mission of promoting the health and safety of patients and adult-use consumers,” he said.

Editor’s note: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that inhaled cannabis concentrates including vape cartridges, live resin, and distillates were the most potentially harmful products but that is not the case. We regret the error and apologize for any confusion.

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Connecticut Police Captain Calls for Legal Cannabis Access After Fentanyl Overdoses

11/22/2021

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A Connecticut police captain is calling for adult-use cannabis dispensaries to be opened “as soon as possible” as at least 39 overdoses in the state have been linked to fentanyl-laced cannabis, CT News Junkie reports. Plymouth Police Capt. Ed Benecchi said the opening of adult-use dispensaries would help “protect the public.”

“Our biggest fear is that this is going to become a trend,” he said, adding that while his department has heard about other cases related to fentanyl-laced cannabis it was “shocking” to get a sample of the adulterated substance.

The overdoses have prompted a warning from the Connecticut Overdose Response Strategy Team, “strongly” urging public health, harm reduction, and others working with clients who use cannabis “to educate them about the possible dangers of marijuana with fentanyl.”

Judiciary Committee Co-Chair Sen. Gary Winfield (D) told News Junkie that he didn’t see how the opening of dispensaries could happen before the end of 2022. In September, Department of Consumer Protection Commissioner Michelle Seagull admitted that the rollout of legal sales in the state would likely be delayed.

“I don’t think it’s as simple as let’s open up the dispensaries. There’s a lot of stuff that needs to be done and we need to be doing it in the right way. We wouldn’t be looking at three weeks after the session starts next year being able to get this done.” — Winfield to News Junkie

A spokesperson for Gov. Ned Lamont (D) told News Junkie that the “concerns of the Plymouth Police reinforce [his] reasoning” for supporting and enacting the cannabis reforms.

“It is his priority to ensure that its implementation, which is already on an aggressive schedule, is accomplished with a safe, responsible, and equitable process in place and is not rushed in a way that causes unintended consequences,” the spokesperson said.

In 2019, 2020, and 2021, more than 80% of overdose deaths in Connecticut involved fentanyl, according to state Department of Public Health statistics.

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Raw Cannabis Odor No Longer Cause for Vehicle Search in Illinois

11/22/2021

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An Illinois judge last week ruled that the odor of unburnt cannabis does not give probable cause to police for a warrantless search during traffic stops, WREX reports. In the ruling, Judge Daniel P. Dalton said, “there are a number of wholly innocent reasons a person or the vehicle in which they are in may smell of raw cannabis … the court finds the odor of raw cannabis alone is insufficient to establish probable cause….”

To rule otherwise, Dalton contended, would place “not only the defendant but also any person in Illinois aged 21 or above, in a position where they could exercise their rights under The Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act only to forfeit their rights under the…United States Constitution and/or…the Illinois Constitution, even though they have acted wholly within the bounds of the law.”

“The court declines to impose this untenable situation upon the defendant or any similarly situated person.” — Dalton via WREX

The case stems from a December 2020 traffic stop in Whiteside County when an Illinois State Trooper stopped a vehicle for speeding and, after smelling the odor of raw cannabis, searched the vehicle and arrested the passenger for just over two grams of cannabis. Cannabis has been legal for adults in Illinois since 2019.

Dalton noted that the passenger also provided a valid medical cannabis ID prior to the search of the vehicle.

Attorney James Mertes, who represented the defendant, described Dalton’s decision as “momentous.”

“It represents an important and necessary expansion of our constitutional protections,” he said in the report. “Today’s decision protects citizens from unreasonable searches based upon conduct that is no longer illegal.”

Illinois Sheriffs Association Executive Director Jim Kaitschuk told WICS that the decision “will become less safe” because of the decision.

“We don’t know how much is in a vehicle,” Kaitschuk said in the report. “I mean it can smell pretty strong regardless of the amount I find it problematic…”

The state can still appeal the decision.

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Social Equity: What Is It, And Is It Working?

11/22/2021

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In the cannabis industry, we often read about “social equity” and we see countless headlines discussing cannabis prohibition, America’s long history of injustice against marginalized communities, and thoughts for rectifying the past through equity programs. But while understanding our past and providing solutions for the future is core to change, I often wonder if a more philosophical approach might garner a better understanding from a broader community, so as to implement real change.

Let’s start with this: what does social equity mean?

The National Academy of Public Administration defines social equity as “the fair, just and equitable management of all institutions serving the public directly or by contract; and the fair and equitable distribution of public services, and implementation of public policy; and the commitment to promote fairness, justice and equity in the formation of public policy.”

In theory and practice, social equity programs should aid an individual’s success by creating an even playing field and providing tools for self-empowerment. Ultimately, this gives an individual the freedom to contribute more greatly to their community, and therefore to our broader society.

Unfortunately, this doesn’t seem to be happening yet — at least not in California, the nation’s largest cannabis industry.

Why? Change like this is complicated and takes time, and I certainly don’t want to suggest there is an easy solution. However, in the interest of expanding understanding and appreciation for the goals of social equity, we must ask: what does social equity mean for a society, and how can these programs benefit both the marginalized and the collective?

In an effort to understand and create change on a larger scale for the cannabis industry, we must look at the present, which starts by understanding how equity programs are working (or not working) today. Over the last several months, the California Cannabis Industry Association’s (CCIA) Diversity, Inclusion and Social Equity (DISE) Committee came together to create an Accountability report aimed at understanding the health and success of local equity programs in California. Through this work, the committee found that most programs are struggling to fulfill their mission, which leaves social equity applicants once again at a disadvantage.

This shouldn’t be surprising to anyone working in the cannabis industry given that even well-capitalized and well-resourced, plant-touching companies in California are also struggling to navigate the industry’s many tumultuous changes.

California might be the largest cannabis market in the world but it also is arguably the most challenging to navigate. Not only is it difficult to acquire a license in the first place, but there are also bigger challenges that an applicant often won’t realize exist until they join the industry, such as limited access to capital, supply chain issues, high taxes, non-business-friendly policies, constantly changing regulations, pay-to-play models for retail distribution and sales, and a thriving illicit marketplace. These issues combined make it very hard for even the most seasoned individuals to navigate the California space.

What should social equity look like?

First-time business owners will find it especially difficult to run a profitable business without experience, financing, and human capital. This is why it’s important to level the playing field by not only making it easier for an applicant to acquire a license but also by helping that applicant acquire the business acumen and technical assistance necessary for running a profitable company.

To create a level playing field for the individual, and to empower communities that have been most affected by the war on drugs, programs must seek to provide the tools to self-empower, to provide people resources to become economically self-sufficient, and to create jobs and programs to restore their community. An individual’s self-growth and success will create a ripple effect that trickles throughout their community.

Recognizing this, each individual and program should seek to ask:

  • Does the program address the fundamental issues at stake? (i.e. evening the playing field for all to equally participate)
  • And does the program create knowledge, frameworks, and networks through which the individual can achieve self-empowerment and self-sufficiency?

With the legal cannabis industry in its infancy, it’s imperative that policymakers and regulators understand the realities of running a cannabis business and seek to create policy that addresses immediate needs, while looking to the future.

CCIA’s DISE Committee hopes that this report will help such programs recognize their individual pain points so they can be addressed and ultimately strengthen their local programs, as well as provide a broader understanding of equity applicants throughout the state.

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Germany’s Coalition Government Commits to Legalizing Cannabis

11/19/2021

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Germany’s incoming coalition government of the Social Democrats (SPD), Green party, and Free Democrats (FDP) signaled this week they intend to pass adult-use cannabis legislation, Deutsche Welle reports.

Party representatives said on Thursday they will be working to legislate the “controlled distribution of cannabis to adults for recreational purposes in licensed shops.” According to lawmakers, the legalization plan — which has been in discussion for weeks — would include a major evaluation process after four years to determine the program’s effectiveness.

According to Niklas Kouparanis, CEO of The Bloomwell Group and a leading voice in the push for cannabis legalization the country, Germany‘s legal cannabis market is set to be a “highly regulated environment” operating between international laws, import/export license requirements, and other internal European Union restrictions.

“Politicians are faced with the task of minimizing the risk of abuse, maximizing control and education, and at the same time setting framework conditions for high-quality care. It would be negligent if the new federal government does not bring together the experts who have already gained experience in the medical cannabis market for the specific design of a legal cannabis market: entrepreneurs, representatives of authorities, pharmacists — together with the drug commissioners of the parties. ” — Kouparanis, in a statement

Both the Green party and FDP, which is business-centered, have called for legalization for years but with tight regulations and considerations for the safety of children. Germany’s police union says it is opposed to any legalization reforms.

Earlier this week, a survey commissioned by the German hemp association found that cannabis legalization would generate about 4.7 billion euros for the European country — that’s 3.4 billion in new tax revenues and about 1.3 billion in cost savings.

Germany is set to become only the third EU country to allow legal recreational cannabis use, following in the footsteps of the Netherlands and, more recently, Luxembourg.

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