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Drake and Canopy Growth Announce End of Partnership

6/04/2021

Drake and Canopy Growth announced the end of their partnership this week, according to a CTV News report.

In November 2019, Drake and Canopy Growth announced the More Life Growth cannabis brand, of which Canopy owned 40 percent while Drake held the remaining 60 percent stake. Financial documents filed by Canopy Growth reveal the company took a $10.3 million loss in the deal and “de-recognized” another $33.7 million in future royalty payments to More Life. It was unclear why the divestment occurred, according to the report.

At the time the deal was announced in 2019, Drake — full name Aubrey Drake Graham — was identified as the new venture’s founder.

“The opportunity to partner with a world-class company like Canopy Growth on a global scale is really exciting. The idea of being able to build something special in an industry that is ever growing has been inspiring.” — Drake, in a 2019 press release

According to Investors.com, More Life Growth is licensed to produce and process cannabis in Ontario, Canada. Under the deal, CGC kept the facility and the rights to distribute cannabis.

Drake is just one celebrity with whom Canopy Growth has partnered — other such celebrities include Snoop Dog, Martha Stewart, and Seth Rogen, Fast Company reports. David Klein, whose mission was to make Canopy Growth an international consumer packaged goods corporation, said last year about their focus on celebrity-backed brands: “One of our differentiators has to be knowing the consumer better than anyone, and we’re going to be applying our science to do that.

“We’ve been doing it in all kinds of pharma pursuits, but we have human affect scientists [who] tell us that when you try a product, what it does physiologically, how you feel, that’s their job to optimize for that,” Klein told Fast Company. “So my view is, if we know what that consumer wants, we can use our human affects guys to help us figure out how to get that experience for the consumer, then package it underneath our brands and bring it to our consumers in a safe and effective way.”

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Arizona Launches Website to Help Clear Cannabis-Related Criminal Records

6/04/2021

The Arizona Supreme Court has launched a new website to help individuals determine whether they are eligible to have their cannabis-related criminal records cleared for crimes that are included under the state’s 2020 voter-approved legalization law, KJZZ reports.

Proposition 207’s provisions allow the sealing of criminal records for possessing, consuming, or transporting two-and-a-half ounces or less of cannabis, of which not more than 12.5 grams was in the form of concentrate; possessing, transporting, cultivating, or processing six or fewer cannabis plants at a primary residence for personal use; and possessing, using, or transporting cannabis cultivation, manufacturing, processing, or consumption paraphernalia, according to the website.

Aaron Nash, communications director for the Arizona Supreme Court, estimated that tens of thousands of Arizonans could be eligible to have their records sealed.

Applicants can begin filing the forms on July 12.

An American Civil Liberties Union report published last year found that Hispanic people in Maricopa County who were charged with simple cannabis possession were sentenced to significantly longer incarceration terms than their white and Black counterparts and that Black people convicted of personal possession of drug paraphernalia received longer sentences than white and Hispanic people.

Maricopa County garnered national attention as a hub for institutional racism under the direction of former Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who was convicted of criminal contempt of court after refusing to stop racially profiling people when detaining “individuals suspected of being in the U.S. illegally.” Arpaio was pardoned of that crime by former President Donald Trump in 2017.

Adult-use cannabis sales began in the state in January after voters approved the reforms in the 2020 General Election. The migration from medical to adult-use sales was just two months, the fastest by any state.

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D.C. ‘Shocked’ and ‘Disappointed’ By Biden Move to Uphold Ban On Recreational Cannabis Sales

6/04/2021

This article was written by Gaspard Le Dem and originally published by Outlaw Report.

D.C. elected officials and business owners are voicing their frustration following news that President Joe Biden’s proposed budget would continue to prevent the District from legalizing recreational cannabis sales.

The White House released its $6 trillion spending plan for the upcoming fiscal year on Friday May 28 that includes language blocking D.C. from using local tax revenue to launch a regulated market for recreational cannabis.

Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) first introduced the budget rider in 2014, and Republicans in Congress have since regularly renewed the provision in annual appropriations legislation. But with a Democratic administration in the White House, cannabis advocates were hopeful the “Harris Rider” would finally be scrapped this year. Harris himself stopped introducing the measure in 2019 when Democrats regained control of the House, though Senate Republicans continued to slip the provision in.

D.C. officials were also gearing up for the ban to be lifted. Earlier this year, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and Council Chairman Phil Mendelson introduced separate bills to legalize and regulate recreational cannabis sales.

In April, Bowser said D.C. was “ready” to regulate recreational cannabis as soon as Congress would allow it: “We have to get the hurdle of Congress out of the way,” she said in an interview with WAMU’s Kojo Nnamdi.

Though Congress will ultimately decide whether the rider makes it into the final budget bill, Biden’s support for the measure is a blow to local statehood advocates and puts a damper on D.C.’s legalization efforts.

Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, D.C.’s non-voting delegate to the House, praised parts of Biden’s budget on Friday, but she slammed the White House’s decision to uphold the cannabis rider, a move she said contradicts the administration’s support for D.C. statehood.

“With Democrats controlling the White House, House and Senate, we have the best opportunity in over a decade to enact a D.C. appropriations bill that does not contain any anti-home-rule riders,” Norton said in a statement.

D.C. Ward 4 Councilmember Charles Allen, who co-sponsored legislation to legalize recreational sales in the District, told The Outlaw Report that he was “shocked” that the Biden Administration kept the rider in its budget proposal.

“To maintain the rider is anti-democratic and misses an opportunity to right a wrong around local governance and self-determination for Americans living in DC,” Allen said.

Allen said he hopes the rider will ultimately be lifted with the help of D.C. statehood supporters in Congress.

“It has caused huge problems for DC while other states have been able to set up a regulatory framework that permits legal and safe sales of marijuana,” Allen said. “DC’s limbo state has led to a lot of problems from public safety to public health issues.”

At-Large Councilmember Christina Henderson echoed Allen’s disappointment.

“DC is the only jurisdiction that must seek approval from Congress on how we spend our local dollars and govern our affairs,” Henderson told The Outlaw Report. “If President Biden truly believes in DC Statehood and our right to full autonomy and representation, this is part of it.”

Biden has been reluctant to back federal efforts to legalize cannabis since he took office in January. Still, some cannabis advocates were left confused by the president’s decision to uphold a provision that has historically been used as a Republican bargaining chip.

“We’re definitely disappointed and really surprised,” Grace Hyde, Chief Operating Officer of District Cannabis, a medical cannabis cultivation center in D.C.’s Ward 5, told The Outlaw Report. “I don’t think any of us were expecting him to voluntarily put [the rider] in there.”

Hyde said recreational cannabis sales have the potential to generate critical tax dollars for the District at a time when city coffers have taken a hit from the coronavirus pandemic: “It’s just a gigantic revenue stream that the city isn’t able to capture right now,” she said.

As a licensed medical cultivator, District Cannabis is a completely legal business, but the lack of a recreational market in D.C. has forced some businesses to rely on a “gifting” loophole in local law to sell their products.

Those “gray market” dispensaries are exposed to arbitrary police raids and legal prosecution. However, selling cannabis on the gray market has its own advantages — dispensaries that “gift” cannabis avoid the high taxes that D.C. imposes on cannabis sales.

Hyde says that delaying the creation of a regulated market for recreational cannabis sales could actually end up benefiting D.C.’s many unlicensed dispensaries.

“It’s going to allow a lot of places to stay in business who aren’t paying these exorbitantly high tax rates like we are,” she said. “For the gray market, the longer that recreational is postponed, the better it is for them.”

Jeremy Beaver, managing partner at Lifted, a gray market cannabis dispensary in D.C.’s Pleasant Plains neighborhood, said Biden’s decision to uphold the ban on recreational sales was predictable.

“While most might be disappointed, I’m not surprised because of the consistent mistreatment of District citizens for decades,” said Beaver, who has owned businesses in D.C. for 30 years.

Though Beaver said D.C. residents should get to make their own laws without interference from Congress, he worried that legalizing recreational sales could lead to larger, out-of-state cannabis investors gaining an unfair advantage over local dispensaries.

“I think legalizing would help the citizenry of the District more than it might help the small business owners, because many multimillion-dollar corporations will come in from other states and edge out all of the small and local business owners for licenses,” Beaver said.

As a business owner, Beaver said he would be reluctant to support the legalization of recreational cannabis sales.

“Our stance is not necessarily for legalization unless there can be provisions for small and local business owners to receive significant or majority percentages of licenses going forward,” he said.

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Louisiana Legislature Approves Bill Allowing Smokable Medical Cannabis

6/04/2021

A bill to allow smokable forms of medical cannabis has cleared both chambers of Louisiana’s Legislature, moving to the desk of Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards who is expected to sign it into law, KEEL reports. State Rep. Tanner Magee (R), the bill’s sponsor, said the measure will lower the cost of medical cannabis for the state’s patients.

“This will allow [producers] to deliver a much cheaper product to the pharmacies and retail level and then it is about the pharmacies pricing it right. It should drop the cost tremendously.” – Magee to KEEL

The new products should be available in Louisiana dispensaries in January.

Under current law, the only forms of medical cannabis available in the state are liquids, topicals, inhalers, and edible gummies.

Another bill covering taxation of the newly allowed smokable products is still working its way through the Legislature. That proposal was recently amended to include an unrelated tax scheme for infrastructure funding that could prove controversial, the report says.

Last year, lawmakers expanded the program by allowing any medical condition to be treated with medical cannabis as long as the condition is approved by a physician. That bill outlined nine specific conditions that would allow patients to enroll in the state’s medical cannabis program but also included language allowing “any condition not otherwise specified in present law or proposed law that a physician, in his medical opinion, considers debilitating to an individual patient and is qualified through his medical education and training to treat.”

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Massachusetts Opens Delivery Licensing Exclusively to Social Equity Applicants

6/04/2021

Massachusetts economic empowerment and social equity cannabis industry applicants can now apply for pre-certification and licensing for cannabis delivery operator licenses. Social equity and economic empowerment applicants will have exclusive access to the permits for at least three years.

Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) Executive Director Shawn Collins said the state’s delivery policies and procedures “will only bolster [the state’s] reputation as a role model for states looking to incorporate equity into cannabis legalization and ensure public safety.”

The licenses allow businesses to wholesale cannabis products from licensed cultivators and manufacturers, white-label, or affix the brand names retail dispensaries, and sell those products directly to consumers, among other functions, the agency said in a press release.

Delivery licensees will have to follow the commission’s typical testing, packaging, and labeling rules and will be required to comply with public safety regulations to warehouse inventory. Two licensed Marijuana Establishment Agents must be present in any vehicle used during deliveries and body cameras must be used when carrying out the delivery, the CCC said.

Under the regulations, delivery services will be available in municipalities that the licensees have identified as its place of business; municipalities that allow for adult-use sales or have informed the commission that delivery is allowed despite otherwise banning adult-use sales.

According to the CCC, there are more than 500 applicants eligible for the delivery licenses – 122 certified economic empowerments applicants and nearly 400 social equity program participants.

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Federal Report Finds No Increase In Teen Cannabis Use After Legalization

6/03/2021

A federal report filed last week by the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) showed zero signs of increased teenage cannabis use due to cannabis legalization policies.

The report uses data volunteered by students to the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, which falls under the umbrella of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The data was collected from 2009 to 2019, meaning that at the start, there were exactly zero states that had legalized cannabis for adult use — and it’s plainly visible in the report that as states passed their legalization laws, youth cannabis access and use stayed level.

“The overall percentage of students who reported using marijuana at least 1 time during the previous 30 days in 2019 was not measurably different from the percentage in 2009 (21 percent).” — Excerpt from the report

The findings are significant because they directly contradict one of the most enduring arguments for cannabis prohibition: that legalization will lead to increased cannabis use among the country’s youth.

Percentage of students in grades 9-12 who reported using cannabis at least once in the previous 30 days, from 2009 to 2019. *Source: Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) data, via the NCES*

“In 2019, about 22 percent of students in grades 9–12 reported that illegal drugs were offered, sold, or given to them on school property,” the report stated. This result was also “no measurable difference” from the percentage of students who reported the presence of illegal drugs in 2009.

Meanwhile, a 2019 study found that Colorado’s cannabis legalization had not caused an uptick in teen use there — although, many of those who were consuming cannabis had altered their consumption methods to include more edibles and concentrates.

In 2018, a California Healthy Kids Survey found that teenage use had actually decreased post-legalization in the state.

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Social Equity Applicant Sues Los Angeles Over Licensing Process

6/03/2021

A Los Angeles, California cannabis industry hopeful is suing the city over its social equity licensing program and is seeking records related to the 2019 licensing process, Spectrum News 1 reports. Carina Christmas said she submitted her application within the first three minutes of the first-come-first-serve online process but ended up being application 325 in line and, therefore, did not qualify for one of the 100 available licenses.

According to the report, an audit found that since applicants were able to access the portal ahead of its 10 a.m. launch time, some spots had been reserved by online bots.

She said that her team has spent more than $100,000 on rent and utilities for the retail storefront while awaiting an answer from the city.

Christmas is being represented by Mike Gatto, a former state Assemblyman, whose firm has been researching the application process and has been unable to get records related to the 2019 social equity licensing portal. Last week, a Los Angeles County judge ordered the city to turn over documents related to the application process, including who had access to the portal early and whether certain members of city staff were able to apply for licensing, the report says.

“These are public records, they have to provide them to us. Whenever you have a system where the public is supposed to have faith in it and you have certain favored people getting access early, you have to question what’s going on with that system.” – Gatto to Spectrum News 1

Christmas said the process tells her that “there’s either a lot of corruption going on in the city or the city doesn’t know what they’re doing.”

An audit of the program by Sjoberk Evashenk found that despite some applicants getting early access to the site, city officials took “reasonable and appropriate” steps to prevent applicants from having an unfair advantage.

The next hearing is set for June 15.

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Activist: Massachusetts Cannabis Industry Responsible for 10% of State’s Industrial Energy Use

6/03/2021

A Northeast Sustainable Cannabis Project representative told lawmakers on Tuesday that the Massachusetts cannabis industry is responsible for 10% of all industrial electricity use in the state and urged them to allow industry cultivators to use organic farming and outdoor technics, according to a MassLive report.

Sanford Lewis, general counsel for the organization, said indoor cultivation is driven, in part, by the state’s pesticide regulations, which only allow growers to use products included on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s 25(b) list of approved products. Lewis described those rules as “misguided.”

“Since the cannabis sector could triple in size by the time supply and demand level out, the impact is likely to be quite a bit larger. So, this means that just as other industries are working hard to curtail their climate impacts, energy-intensive indoor cannabis has come along to undermine the Massachusetts goal of reducing greenhouse gasses emitted.” — Lewis, to the Joint Committee on Cannabis Policy, via MassLive

The Cannabis Control Commission has licensed more than 1.1 million square feet of indoor cannabis cultivation and just 280,000 square feet of outdoor cultivation, according to state data outlined in the report.

The Cannabis Policy panel was hearing testimony on a bill introduced in the House in March by state Rep. Paul Mark that would allow cannabis farmers to use biological and botanical pesticide products that are considered appropriate for organic farming provided that the EPA allows the use of the product’s ingredients on food and tobacco crops and has not established a federal tolerance limit, according to the bill text.

Lewis encouraged the panel to support that bill and noted that Colorado, California, and Oregon already allow the state’s cannabis cultivators to use organic products.

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Vermont Regulators Commit to Cannabis Social Equity

6/03/2021

The Vermont Cannabis Control Board will prioritize equity as it begins to build a regulated adult-use cannabis market, VT Digger reports. The three-member board has until October 2022 to craft rules for cannabis retailers, producers, and labs; develop a license fee structure; and recommend who receives financial assistance from the state to open a cannabis business.

Board Chair James Pepper said the Commission would work to build a “diverse and equitable” market that, “builds upon Vermont’s competitive advantages, and can sustain and thrive in an eventual transition to federal legalization.” He said the state would like to create a “sustainable” revenue stream to help alleviate “second and third-order” consequences of the war on drugs through economic empowerment, according to the report.

To aid the Commission in their work, the legislature recently passed a bill — expected to be signed by the governor in the coming days — that will help people disproportionately affected by the war on drugs to apply for loans and grants for cannabis-related businesses.

Vermont’s executive director of racial equity Xusana Davis has been working with lawmakers and the Cannabis Control Board to develop social equity criteria. She believes “race and ethnicity” should center the discussion but feels other factors like sex, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, and poverty could also be considered.

“It really depends on how broad you want to go, right? For example, we haven’t historically considered people with low or no academic attainment as a historically marginalized group, but maybe we should, right?” — Xusana Davis via VT Digger

Davis believes the state should reach out to underground cannabis producers because they “know the market” and it would be a way for the state to automatically include “historically marginalized” individuals.

The other two board members expressed similar views to Chairman Pepper in the report. Kyle Harris said the market needs to be “rooted in equity” and should “pay close and special attention to small cannabis growers.” Board member Julie Hulburd said they had a “historic responsibility to build a foundation for which inclusive and restorative practices are the cornerstone” of the cannabis industry.

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Washington State University Cannabis Center Formally Designated as Research Center

6/03/2021

Washington State University’s Center for Cannabis Policy, Research and Outreach (CCPRO) was officially approved by the university’s Faculty Senate and Board of Regents last month, formalizing its designation as a research center.

Michael McDonell, CCPRO director and professor at the Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine, said the “center status recognizes [WSU’s] researchers’ outstanding, multi-disciplinary scholarship on cannabis.”

“It also brings together under one center work on everything from research focused on the impact of cannabis on development to scholarship on cannabis and public safety, as well as our growing hemp research. … “We’re seeing some of these barriers to research being lifted in a stepwise way. It will help us work to keep up with the cannabis industry to provide the citizens of Washington with the information they need to make informed decisions about their health and cannabis.” – McDonnell in a statement

WSU said that over the last six years its researchers have engaged in 50 projects with nearly $10 million in funding. The university said there are nearly 100 scientists working on cannabis-related projects. Recent projects, WSU said, include behavioral and biological predictor study of problematic cannabis use which was awarded a $400,000 National Institute on Drug Abuse grant.

WSU researchers are also conducting a hemp seed trial near the WSU Prosser Irrigated Agriculture Research and Extension Center facility.

The center has also partnered with Oregon State University and California Davis on hemp germplasm studies and the Puyallup Tribe on a study on the use of cannabis for pain management.

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California Senate Passes Bill to Legalize Possession of Psychedelics

6/02/2021

The California Senate on Monday approved a bill to legalize possession of psychedelics, including LSD, DMT, MDMA, psilocybin mushrooms, ibogaine, mescaline, and ketamine. The proposal has already cleared three committees in the House, which must still approve the bill before it moves to Democratic Gov. Gavin Newson for final approval.

The bill, which passed 21-16, does not decriminalize the sale of any of the psychedelic substances but does include the repeal of crimes related to cultivation and transport of psilocybin mushroom spores

The measure was introduced by state Sen. Scott Weiner (D), who said during the floor vote that it was “time to move away from failed drug criminalization policies and toward a science- and health-based approach.”

“The War on Drugs has failed us, and criminalizing these substances doesn’t make anyone safer. … Psychedelics show great promise in helping people deal with complex trauma, depression, anxiety, and addiction.” Weiner on the Senate floor via Courthouse News

The version passed by the Senate also removed criminal reform language, which would have allowed expungement and sealing of previous psychedelic possession crimes. It does include provisions requiring the state Department of Public Health to examine possible legalization of the substances and their use in certain context, such as for therapeutic purposes.

Santa Cruz and Oakland have already decriminalized the personal possession and use of some psychedelics.

During the 2020 General Election, Oregon voters approved initiatives to decriminalize all drugs and legalize psilocybin therapy – the first state in the nation to approve such reforms. Voters in Washington, D.C. also approved a measure to decriminalize all psychedelic plants.

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Amazon Supports Legalization & Will Stop Drug Testing for Cannabis

6/02/2021

Amazon, the second-largest U.S. employer behind Walmart, said on Tuesday that it will stop testing would-be employees for cannabis. In a blog post, the company said it had in the past disqualified people from employment for positive cannabis tests – “like many employers” – but decided to change course as more states pass legalization reforms.

The company also said its public policy team “will be actively supporting” the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act of 2021 (MORE Act).

“We will no longer include marijuana in our comprehensive drug screening program for any positions not regulated by the Department of Transportation, and will instead treat it the same as alcohol use. We will continue to do impairment checks on the job and will test for all drugs and alcohol after any incident.” – Amazon, Update on our vision to be Earth’s Best Employer and Earth’s Safest Place to Work, June 1, 2021

The MORE Act was reintroduced by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-NY) last week. The measure would remove penalties for cannabis possession, clear some cannabis-related criminal records, and establish social equity programs dedicated to repairing the communities most disadvantaged by the racist War on Drugs and undoing other generational harms of cannabis prohibition.

The House, which is controlled by Democrats, delayed a vote on the MORE Act last year amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Last year, a U.S. District Court in New Jersey ruled in favor of a medical cannabis patient fired by Amazon over a failed drug test, allowing the case against the online retail giant to proceed in a lower court.

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Nevada Approves Cannabis Lounges & Social Use

6/02/2021

The Nevada Senate on Monday approved a bill to allow social use cannabis lounges, Fox 13 reports. The proposal includes a Senate amendment allowing municipal governments to enact stricter rules than the state on lounges, if they choose.

The bill had already approved by the House and moves next to Gov. Steve Sisolak (D) who is expected to sign it.

Cannabis has been legal in Nevada since 2016; however, there were no social-use provisions in the voter-approved law and consumption outside of private residences remains illegal. In 2019, the Vegas Paiute Tribe opened the state’s first social-use lounge – the NuWu Cannabis Tasting Room – which was permitted because the tribe in a sovereign nation. However, the site was forced to close amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Assemblyman Steve Yeager (D), the bill’s primary sponsor, told KSNV that he hoped social-use businesses would open “toward the fall of this year” but that it wouldn’t surprise him if lounges didn’t start opening until “early next year.”

The measure also sets aside some social-use licenses for social equity applicants, which Nevada Dispensary Association Executive Director, Layke Martin, said would “increase diversity” in the state’s cannabis industry.

The bill requires the state Cannabis Compliance Board to regulate consumption lounges throughout state with different license types available for sites attached to dispensaries or to stand-alone sites selling single-use products for on-premises consumption. Alcohol would not be allowed to be served in any cannabis lounge and they would not be allowed in the state’s casinos.

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Albuquerque Considers New Restrictive Cannabis Zoning Regulations

6/02/2021

The Albuquerque City Council is considering cannabis zoning regulations that are more restrictive than New Mexico’s recently passed adult-use rules, according to KQRE.

At the request of Mayor Tim Keller, the proposals seek to limit retail cannabis hours from 7:00 am to 10:00 pm and to ban retail cannabis shops from opening within 660 feet of “main street” locations. Loosely defined as “linear development along a pedestrian-friendly street, typically emphasizing small and local retail and office uses,” there are multiple “main street” areas in Albuquerque, according to the report.

Additionally, the rules prevent dispensary signs from displaying a cannabis leaf and must only list the business name, hours of operation, and somehow identify the “nature of the business.” Finally, the rules add places of worship to the list of locations that cannabis businesses must distance themselves from by at least 300 feet — other such locations include schools, daycares, and public play areas.

Pat Davis, a City Councilperson and cannabis industry consultant, expressed concerns about the proposed regulations.

“There may be some other changes that we could do on a neighborhood level to ensure that people feel more comfortable. But this is a bridge too far.” — Davis, via KQRE

Linda Trujillo, the Superintendent of the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department, said Albuquerque has the authority to regulate cannabis businesses as they see fit, as long as the regulations are “reasonable” — although it is unclear exactly what that means. Commenting on the state-level restrictions, Trujillo said the zoning regulations were “logical.”

“It is about safety,” she said in the report. “For example, the [rule to keep cannabis businesses] 300 feet from a school or daycare center. That’s absolutely in relation to trying to ensure that our youth are safe and that they’re not being targeted for advertisements.”

The city’s Planning Director Brennon Williams said the council must act soon because zoning updates only happen once per year.

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Mike Tyson Credits Psychedelics with Changing His Life

6/01/2021

In an interview with Reuters, former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson said that psilocybin mushrooms changed his life as he struggled with suicidal thoughts.

“Everyone thought I was crazy, I bit this guy’s ear off. … I did all this stuff, and once I got introduced to the shrooms … my whole life changed. … To think where I was – almost suicidal – to this now. Isn’t life a trip, man? It’s amazing medicine, and people don’t look at it from that perspective.” – Tyson to Reuters

Earlier this month, Tyson announced he had invested in Wesana, a psychedelic-focused wellness company that is publicly traded on the Canadian Securities Exchange. Wesana is founded by National Hockley League champion Daniel Carcillo.

“Traumatic brain injury has affected me and many people I care about, including fighters and veterans,” Tyson wrote on Twitter, according to Psychedelic Spotlight. “I’m proud to be an early investor in @wesanahealth.”

Tyson launched his cannabis business, the Ranch Companies, in 2018 and last year announced a partnership with Smart Cups to manufacture printed, water-soluble cannabinoid products which would allow consumers to add their own liquid to create unique beverage infusions.

The company also sought the naming rights to Barcelona Spain’s Nou Camp soccer stadium. The company wanted to use the Swiss X brand – the Ranch Companies’ CBD product – for the marketing deal.

In an interview with USA Today prior to his exhibition bout with Roy Jones Jr. – which was sponsored by Weedmaps – Tyson said 5MeO-DMT “told [him] to get into shape.” Tyson said he lost 100 pounds training for the fight.

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Texas Senate Fails to Vote on House-Approved Cannabis Concentrates Bill Before Session Ends

6/01/2021

The Texas Senate declined to vote on a House-approved bill to reduce the criminal penalties for cannabis extract possession before the end of the state’s legislative session, the Austin American-Statesman reports. The measure passed the lower chamber 95-44 on Sunday ahead of the Legislature’s midnight deadline but the Senate declined to hold its own vote.

The proposal would have lowered the penalty for possessing less than 2 ounces of concentrate products – such as edibles, tinctures, and oils – from a felony to a Class B misdemeanor. Individuals caught with concentrate products in the state face between six months and two years in jail.

The House version had been amended by Republican Sen. Charles Perry to include regulations for Delta-8 THC but that amendment was neither approved by the House nor by the conference committee, which unanimously approved the original version.

According to the report, just one of more than a dozen cannabis-related bills made it to the desk of Gov. Greg Abbot (R). The watered-down version of the medical cannabis program expansion bill was the only cannabis-related legislation to be approved by lawmakers and move to the governor. As introduced, the measure would have increased THC limits in medical cannabis products from 0.5% to 5% but the final version only approved an increase to 1%.

A March poll conducted by the University of Texas and Texas Tribune found 60% of Texans support broad cannabis legalization in the state; 28% of poll respondents said they believed cannabis should only be legalized for medical purposes while 13% preferred cannabis remain outlawed in the state.

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‘Heaviest Hitting’ Pre-Roll On The Planet Hits The Streets In California

6/01/2021

Diamond by Heavy Hitters, a legacy of purity, potency and purpose, since 1996.

LOS ANGELES, California, June 1, 2021 — Heavy Hitters today announced Diamond, an innovative new experience into the premium cannabis world.

Diamond harmonizes ULTRA premium flower and ULTRA potent THC-A diamonds providing a deep balanced body effect and flavorful filled smooth smoke flow. The majority of the first batch tested at over 50% potency!

“When happy, passionate, cannabis loving, hard working people get together with a mission this fun, they don’t stop until it delivers an experience that will be loved by our connoisseur friends,” said Skyler S., Co-Founder of Mammoth Distribution.

The key to creating such a robust, yet smooth smoke starts with the flower. Diamond uses only fresh and sticky nugs, never any shake or trim, sourced from top California cultivators. Access to flower like this only comes from being in the industry for almost 25 years. It is that same choice flower that is used to make the diamonds by first forming it into sauce then putting it under extreme pressure, resulting in the purest, most potent 99% THC-A diamonds. The purity is important so no residual smells or flavors corrupt the natural, bold bouquet of flavors emanating from the flower.

When masterfully rolled using a proprietary blending technology, the result is an elevated smoke with an even burn, a full-bodied flavor, and the heavy effects synonymous with the brand. Diamond is the latest offering from the ULTRA line, an elite collection that embodies the core of Heavy Hitter’s brand principles: To create the purest, most potent cannabis products on the market.

To celebrate the launch, Heavy Hitters has created a special edition line of Diamond merchandise, custom humidors to store them for the industry insiders, and one-of-a-kind pendant necklaces, handcrafted by Sticks & Stones Jewelry. The pendant has been artfully fashioned, not only using white and black diamonds, emeralds, gold, and silver but also incorporating cannabis flower and THC-A diamonds. The final product is a stunning and unique adornment, the ultimate wearable expression of the Diamond Pre-Roll.

This limited edition product will have a pre-release at select retailers beginning on June 3rd and launching statewide in California at the end of the month.

For more information on Diamond and all of the great product offerings from Heavy Hitters, please visit www.heavyhitters.co.

About Heavy Hitters
Los Angeles born, and family-owned and operated since 1996, Heavy Hitters is a true original amongst cannabis brands. Dedicated since day one to only produce the highest quality, purest, and most potent products, Heavy Hitters continues to push the boundaries of what it means to be connoisseur cannabis. Always innovating, their ever-growing brand portfolio includes one of the best selling vape cartridges in California, along with a variety of edibles, concentrates and pre-rolls. Heavy Hitters products are distributed exclusively by Mammoth Distribution and are available in California’s top dispensaries.

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Rhode Island Seeks to Revoke Medical Cannabis Operator’s License Over Bribery

6/01/2021

Officials in Rhode Island are seeking to revoke the medical cannabis cultivation license of Colorado Ave LLC, which is owned by Brian Bairos – who agreed to pay a bribe to disgraced former Fall River, Massachusetts Mayor Jasiel Correia, WPRI reports. Correia was found guilty earlier this month of extorting cannabis businesses and fraud.

Bairos testified in Correia’s trial that he paid the $150,00 bribe, in return for a non-opposition letter to open a dispensary in the city, in a combination of cash and more than 12 pounds of cannabis to a Correia associate named Tony Costa. Bairos was given immunity in exchange for his testimony.

In a show-cause order issued in February, the Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation (DBR) said Colorado Ave failed to ensure the agency access to its real-time camera feeds and failed to appropriately track and trace plants and inventory. The order also says the revocation is due to Colorado Ave’s “failure to uphold its fitness to engage in the medical marijuana industry by Mr. Bairos’ participating in Giving Tree’s extortion.” Giving Tree was the name of his proposed cannabis dispensary in Fall River.

The case has also ensnared David Brayton, a Rhode Island man who testified at Correia’s trial that he paid a $100,000 bribe to the former mayor for a non-opposition letter to open a dispensary. Brayton has successfully applied for the Rhode Island license lottery for his plan to open a dispensary, Faded Minds, in Providence, the report says.

Brian Hodge, a spokesperson for the DBR, said the agency is aware of Brayton’s links to the Fall River scandal and that regulators reserve “the right to disqualify applicants based on new information” but could not “comment on ongoing investigatory matters.”

Following his conviction, Corriea claimed he would “have a great day of vindication and eventually the real truth will come out” adding that “there were no facts that were brought forward [and] no overwhelming evidence.” He has promised to appeal.

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Federal Cannabis Legalization Bill Proposed In U.S. House

5/31/2021

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-NY) reintroduced The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act of 2021 on Friday.

If approved, the MORE Act — which was crafted with an emphasis on empowering states to enact their own cannabis policies — would remove penalties for cannabis possession, clear some cannabis-related criminal records, and establish social equity programs dedicated to repairing the communities most disadvantaged by the racist drug war and undoing other generational harms of cannabis prohibition.

The bill’s House co-sponsors include Cannabis Caucus co-Chairs Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Barbara Lee (D-CA), Judiciary Crime Subcommittee Chairwoman Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), House Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), and Small Business Committee Chairwoman Nydia Velázquez (D-NY).

The bill would establish an Opportunity Trust Fund, funded by a five percent tax (which would increase to an 8 percent tax over three years) on retail cannabis sales. This fund would cover job training, health education, re-entry, and other services including legal aid for people from the most impacted communities. The bill also calls for creating an Office of Cannabis Justice, which would oversee the new social equity requirements.

“Since I introduced the MORE Act last Congress, numerous states across the nation, including my home state of New York, have moved to legalize marijuana. Our federal laws must keep up with this pace. I’m proud to reintroduce the MORE Act to decriminalize marijuana at the federal level, remove the needless burden of marijuana convictions on so many Americans, and invest in communities that have been disproportionately harmed by the War on Drugs.” — Rep. Nadler, in a press release

When House lawmakers first approved the MORE Act last December, it was the first time a body of Congress voted to end cannabis prohibition, but the bill eventually died in the then-Republican-controlled Senate.

However, with Democrats now in control of the Senate as well as the House, it remains unknown whether the MORE Act would reach the Senate floor as Congress is anticipating a separate federal legalization bill from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY). While the exact language of that bill remains unknown, it is expected to likewise address social justice concerns and seek to repair the harms of cannabis prohibition — and Sen. Schumer has suggested that he may prioritize his own legislation over other cannabis reform efforts.

“With a strong base of support in the House and in the Senate, the table is set,” said Rep. Blumenaur, who co-founded the Congressional Cannabis Caucus. “It’s past time that we stop federal interference with cannabis banking and research, as well as the terrible pattern of selective enforcement that has devastated communities of color. The MORE Act will help address all of these problems and more.”

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Report: Positive Employment Drug Tests Reach 16-Year High

5/31/2021

Positive employment drug tests reached a 16-year high in 2019 with cannabis positivity rates climbing 11% from 2018 to 2019, from 2.8% to 3.1%, respectively, according to an analysis by Quest Diagnostics. The study found cannabis positivity rates increased highest in the Midwest – 2.9% in 2018 to 3.3% in 2019 – and West where positivity rates increased 24% from 2.2% in 2018 to 4.1% in 2019.

The Midwest also saw rising rates in positive drug tests for methamphetamine – a 12% increase from 0.17% in 2015 to 0.19% in 2019 – and cocaine, which climbed 40% from 0.20% in 2015 to 0.28% in 2019. The West saw a 53% increase in positive drug tests for cocaine from 0.15% in 2015 to 0.23% in 2019, the analysis found.

Dr. Barry Sample, senior director of science and technology at Quest called the increasing positivity rates for methamphetamine and cocaine “a cause for concern” while noting “the national debate on drug misuse in the workforce has focused primarily on marijuana.”

“Marijuana continues to be an enduring presence in the U.S. workforce. Changing attitudes toward its use could pose heightened risks especially in safety-sensitive positions and those states exploring legalization.” – Sample, in a statement

Positive drug tests for opioids declined 19% nationally from 2018 to 2019 – 0.31% to 0.25%, respectively. The positivity rate for semi-synthetic opiates, like hydrocodone, dropped 26% from 0.50% in 2018 versus 0.37% in 2019 and more than 45 percent over five years – 0.68% in 2015 versus 0.37% in 2019. The positivity rate for oxycodone-type drugs saw a 21% decline from 0.43% in 2018 to 0.34% in 2019. The analysis found that positivity rates for oxycodone drugs fell nearly 55% from the 0.75% rate in 2015 to 0.34% in 2019.

Positivity rates for heroin also declined from 0.3% in 2018 to 0.2% in 2019 – representing a 50% decline since the 0.04% positivity rate in 2015 and 2016.

Sample attributed the rise, partly, to the “enormous strain” of the coronavirus pandemic.

“Organizations will need to consider the impact of COVID-19 not only on workplace safety but also as a health concern for their employees for some time to come,” he said.

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Survey: Most Christian Religious Groups Support Cannabis Legalization

5/31/2021

The majority of individuals who identify as religious support broad cannabis legalization, according to a Pew Research Center survey. Support for the reforms is much stronger, though, among the non-religious.

The poll found support for both medical and adult use by 60% of all adults, with 31% only supporting medical use, and 8% preferring cannabis to remain outlawed.

Among those who identify as religious, only White evangelicals did not support broad legalization, with 44% supporting the reforms, 43% supporting medical use only, and 14% wanting cannabis to remain prohibited.

Adult-use reforms were otherwise supported by 62% of White Protestants, non-evangelicals, 63% of Black Protestants, 58% of White Catholics, and 51% of Hispanic Catholics.

Broad legalization saw support from 76% of those identifying as non-religious, with 20% supporting only medical legalization and 4% opposed to any legalization. Eighty-eight percent of atheists supported adult-use legalization, along with 86% of agnostics, and 70% who identified their religious beliefs as “nothing in particular.”

Those who described themselves as “most religious” were least likely to support broad cannabis legalization, 39%, but 45% of the cohort supported legal medical cannabis use, with 14% fully opposed to any reforms. Sixty-four percent of those self-described as “moderately religious” supported adult-use reforms, while 29% of that population supported only medical use. More than three-out-of-four (76%) who described themselves as “least religious” supported broad legalization, while 20% of the cohort supported only medical cannabis use.

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New Mexico Releases Adult-Use Cannabis Industry Draft Rules

5/28/2021

New Mexico officials have released the first proposed cannabis industry rules, focused on producer licenses and plant fees, the Albuquerque Journal reports. The draft regulations set license fees for producer, retailers, and social-use businesses at $2,500 and a three-tier system for producers which would see larger volume producers – capped at 4,500 mature plants – pay higher per-plant fees than smaller businesses.

The current limit for licensed producers in the state in 1,750 plants, the report says.

Last week, Regulation and Licensing Superintendent Linda Trujillo, whose agency is implementing the Legislature-approved law, told reporters last week that the agency’s goal “would be to take it live with commercial sales before April 1” – the deadline approved by lawmakers.

“But today’s proposed rules don’t mean the conversation is over. Through public comment, public hearings and ongoing conversations, we will continue to strengthen these rules to ensure the best possible outcomes.” – Trujillo, in a statement, via the Journal

The draft rules and include requirements for surveillance security and mandates that unused cannabis be disposed of through compost or ground into soil.

Duke Rodriguez, president and CEO of Ultra Health Inc., the state’s largest medical cannabis producer, said the three-tiered system for producers “seems to advocate smallness in aspiration and doesn’t reflect the robustness that will be needed to achieve the 11,000-plus jobs and several hundred million-dollar cannabis industry.”

Starting next month, New Mexicans 21-and-older will be allowed to cultivate up to six mature plants, possess up to 2 ounces of cannabis – or an equivalent amount of concentrates.

More draft rules are expected to be released in the coming months.

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As D.C. Reopens, Medical Cannabis Industry Emerges ‘Stronger Than Ever’

5/28/2021

This article was written by Gaspard Le Dem and originally published by Outlaw Report.

It has been a brutal year for D.C. businesses. Amid strict coronavirus restrictions, storefronts across the District faced a new socially distanced reality, leaving them to quickly adapt their business models or perish. Some found ways to cope, but many were forced to permanently shutter their doors. At least 375 businesses have closed in D.C. since officials announced the first pandemic lockdowns in early 2020, according to a recent tally by WAMU.

Now, with coronavirus caseloads approaching new lows, commercial activity in D.C. is returning to some sense of normalcy. On May 21, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser lifted most remaining limitations on businesses, including restrictions on capacity, hours of operation, and types of activity.

For D.C.’s fledgling medical cannabis industry, the pandemic brought significant challenges as businesses looked for ways to accommodate patients without putting them at risk of contracting a potentially deadly disease.

But it also had its silver linings as a wave of emergency regulations gave growers and dispensaries greater freedom to conduct their business.

The most sweeping change came in October, when D.C.’s Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration (ABRA) took over the medical cannabis program from DC Health, an agency that many had criticized for slowing the industry’s growth.

ABRA immediately adopted a more business-friendly approach, issuing a series of emergency rule changes that allowed dispensaries and growers to adapt to the pandemic.

ABRA also gave dispensaries the green light to deliver cannabis products straight to people’s doorstep, along with curbside pickup outside storefronts. A month later, the agency OK’d cannabis sales to out-of-state patients, a major boost for the industry, which was previously limited to D.C. cannabis cardholders.

Then, in March of this year, ABRA simultaneously eliminated a cap on the number of plants that growers could cultivate, allowed dispensaries to host educational classes and demonstrations, and authorized schools to administer cannabis to qualifying students.

Meanwhile, the D.C. Council passed temporary legislation opening up the cannabis industry to formerly incarcerated entrepreneurs, and is now considering a bill to grow the number of dispensary licenses from eight to 16.

Cannabis business owners say ABRA’s deregulation blitz has played a big role in keeping the industry afloat during the pandemic. As of this week, none of D.C.’s eight dispensaries or seven cultivation centers have had to shut down.

Linda Greene, owner of Anacostia Organics, a dispensary in Southeast D.C., told The Outlaw Report that her business is now “stronger than ever” as D.C. begins to reopen.

“The pandemic allowed us to institute some of the mechanisms we had been trying to get for a long time, such as the home delivery, curbside pickup, and pre-ordering,” she said.

While many businesses — restaurants, clothing stores, hotels — were barely getting by after a sharp drop in sales, Greene says her dispensary was actually growing.

“Our business immediately increased and I had to hire additional staff,” she said. “While other businesses were closing, we were keeping DC residents employed.”

But she says her dispensary’s success wasn’t only the result of regulatory changes –– it took hard work from staff and a willingness to change.

“Businesses always have to adjust,” she said. “I’m proud of my staff who put themselves at danger of contracting COVID-19 to ensure our patients had the medications, counseling, and kindness they needed during this pandemic.”

Greene says she now looks forward to tourism returning to the District, and being able to serve cannabis patients from other states.

“Because it is federally illegal to cross state lines with any form of cannabis, many medical patients will depend on the legally licensed medical cannabis dispensaries, such as Anacostia Organics, to obtain their medications while visiting our city,” she said.

Rabbi Jeffrey Kahn, who runs the dispensary Takoma Wellness Center in Northwest, said he hopes customers will soon return to his store in person, as most now prefer curbside pickup or home delivery.

“We would love to see a return to people feeling comfortable in the presence of others,” he said.

Like Anacostia Organics, Kahn’s business was able to prosper despite coronavirus restrictions.

“We have maintained steady growth during the pandemic,” he said.

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Connecticut Cannabis Legalization Bill Could Be Considered Next Week

5/28/2021

The Connecticut House Majority Leader said he expects at least one legislative chamber to act next week on a bill to legalize cannabis in the state, WTNH reports. State Rep. Jason Rojas, a Democrat, said he expects the measure to be heard, first, by the Senate.

Rojas added that lawmakers plan on making social equity applicants a priority in the first round of licensing.

“The whole conversation around equity is about ensuring that entrance to the marketplace is able to be accessed by communities and or individuals who live in the communities that have been most impacted by the war on drugs.” – Rojas to WTNH

State Rep. Matthew Ritter, the Speaker of the Democratically-led House, indicated that he was “struck by the number” of lawmakers that “were ‘no’s’ previously, or ‘maybes’ who are kind of getting there.”

House Minority Leader, Republican state Rep. Vin Candelora, said conversations were still needed because of “health issues” associated with “people that are vaping 90% THC.”

A recent Sacred Heart University poll found nearly two-thirds (64%) of Connecticut residents support adult-use cannabis legalization in the state with about 29% opposed and 7% unsure. The survey also found that 61.6% of respondents supported legalization-related criminal reforms such as the expungement of low-level cannabis crimes, which is included in the bill making its way through the Legislature.

The reforms are supported by Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont, who has indicated that if the Legislature fails to approve the reforms this session – which ends June 9 – the issue would “probably” end up being put to voters next year.

Connecticut is bordered by legal states Massachusetts and New York, the latter of which only approved the reforms in March and has not yet launched legal sales.

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