United Kingdom-based medical cannabis companies are eligible for listing on the London Stock Exchange so long as they have the appropriate government licenses, IR Magazine reports. Under the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) guidance, companies that also produce recreational cannabis are banned from the exchange.
The FCA said it will allow overseas cannabis companies on the exchange as long as their operations are not considered criminal under the UK‘s Proceeds of Crime Act (PoCA). The Agency said it will review such businesses to ensure that they don’t run afoul of the law.
“We consider that there remains a risk that the proceeds from overseas medicinal cannabis business may constitute criminal property for the purposes of the PoCA. This includes where the company possesses a license issued by an overseas medicines or pharmaceuticals licensing authority.” – FCA in a statement via IR Magazine
Roby Zomer, co-founder and managing director of MGC Pharmaceuticals, which is already publicly traded in Australia, said the firm had started seeking listing in the UK “more than a year ago.” He said the company would “be one of the first cannabis-related companies to list in the UK” in the wake of the guidance.
The FCA said that while a company might be legally operating outside of the UK, the agency cannot “assume a person who has been licensed in an overseas country would receive a license…in the UK as licensing regimes differ globally.” Cannabis companies outside of the UK that apply for listing will have to show that it would be legal under UK rules and provide information about its business and licenses.
Nebraska activists have turned in 15,000 signatures to establish the Legal Marijuana Now party in the state, four years after falling short due to a lack of valid signatures, the Lincoln Journal-Star reports. The campaign – led by Mark Elworth Jr. – needs 6,800 valid signatures to establish the party, which already has full ballot access in Minnesota and has been off and on the ballot in Iowa.
“We’re marijuana smokers. You can imagine what we’re about. We’re really about the lifestyle. Not just marijuana. We’re a whole culture that is not represented, really, by anybody.” – Elworth to the Journal-Star
Elworth said his focus for turning in the petition, even though it won’t get the party access to 2020 ballots, is to prevent young people from leaving the state. He said young Nebraskans are “hopeless” when it comes to the state’s politics. Elworth is also the Democratic nominee for Congress; however, the party is not supporting him because he failed to fill out an application with the party.
The Legal Marijuana Now party was started in Minnesota more than 30 years ago as an offshoot of the Grassroots Party.
If the signatures are validated, the party would be eligible for ballot access during the 2022 elections. Elworth indicated that if the party is approved, he would spend the next two years getting people registered with the party.
Earlier this month, the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled that the state’s medical cannabis initiative violated the single-issue rule and blocked it from appearing on ballots in November.
A study by researchers at Australia’s Chris O’Brien Lifehouse found a 14-25 percent reduction in chemotherapy side effects, such as nausea and vomiting, in patients who used cannabis capsules containing a 1:1 THC to CBD ratio, 9News reports.
The trial involved 80 patients and Associate Professor Peter Grimison, a medical oncologist at Chris O’Brien Lifehouse, said an extra “one in 10” had control over their nausea and vomiting compared to placebo. About one in three cancer patients experience nausea and vomiting, despite anti-nausea medications.
“More than four in five patients said they preferred having cannabis despite some side-effects because they had better control of nausea and vomiting.” – Grimison to 9News
About a third of the patients in the study reported side effects, including drowsiness, dizziness, or disorientation.
Cannabis is approved for cancer patient use under nearly all state-approved medical cannabis programs.
A study published last year by Minnesota Department of Health researchers at found that cancer patients enrolled in the state’s medical cannabis program reported “significant reduction” in the severity of symptoms in the first four months of cannabis treatment, including a 50 percent reduction in the number of patients that experienced vomiting.
A study published in the European Journal of Internal Medicine in 2018 conducted by medical cannabis producer Tikun Olam found 96 percent of cancer patient respondents reported an improvement of their condition through the use of medical cannabis, including reduced nausea.
A Cancer-published study in 2018 also found 24 percent of patients treated at Washington’s Seattle Cancer Care Alliance had used cannabis for both physical and psychological symptoms related to their disease.
Democratic leaders in the U.S. House said they are pushing back the vote on the MORE Act – which would end federal cannabis prohibition – as the chamber needs to focus on the coronavirus relief bill, NJ.com reports. The MORE Act vote had been expected this month.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (MD) indicated the chamber would bring a vote on the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act by the end of the year.
“The MORE Act remains a critical component of House Democrats’ plan for addressing systemic racism and advancing criminal justice reform. Right now, the House is focused relentlessly on securing agreement to stave off a damaging government shutdown and continuing to do its job addressing the COVID-19 pandemic.” – Hoyer to NJ.com
In a statement, Democratic co-chairs of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, Reps. Earl Blumenauer (OR) and Barbara Lee (CA) said “the public deserves this vote.”
“As Americans confront hundreds of years of systemic racial injustice, ending the failed war on drugs that has disproportionately hurt Black and Brown Americans must be front and center,” they said.
In addition to removing cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act, the measure requires federal courts to expunge prior cannabis-related convictions and would authorize a 5 percent tax on sales to create an Opportunity Trust Fund. The fund would be administered by the Department of Justice and Small Business Administration to support those who have been adversely affected by the ‘War on Drugs’ by providing assistance to socially and economically disadvantaged small business owners and minimize barriers to cannabis licensing and employment.
State lawmakers would still have to pass legislation to legalize cannabis – and cannabis sales – in their state.
The measure faces strong opposition in the Republican-led Senate.
Lift & Co. Corp, a cannabis-focused events company based in Canada, has filed for bankruptcy after failing to reach an agreement with its secured creditors and inability to sell its consumer marketing and trade marketing divisions. The company said it owes $3.5 million in secured debts.
The company had announced an “asset light strategy” at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, meanwhile, unsuccessfully shopping its marketing division. In a press release, the company said it had received seven non-binding offers for the division and was “on the cusp of signing a definitive agreement” to sell the division but, ultimately, “it would not be possible to come to an agreement” with their creditors that would allow the sale.
“Lift & Co. does not have the working capital necessary to repay the amount owing on the secured convertible debentures or to continue carrying on its business. As a result, Lift & Co. has made a voluntary assignment for the benefit of its creditors under section 49 of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (Canada) and all of its directors and officers have resigned.” – Lift & Co. in a statement
The firm said its debentures matured on Sept. 10 and that it had also missed the Sept. 14 deadline for the filing and delivery of its financial statements.
Lift & Co. said the coronavirus pandemic resulted in its cash flow from events “essentially ceasing.”
According to a LiveDesign survey of live events businesses, 76 percent indicated they had lost 75 percent of their business since March. About 71 percent of respondents said their revenues had fallen 75 percent.
A former state prison in Orange County, New York has been transformed into the Kaycha Labs medical cannabis and hemp testing facility, Mid-Hudson News reports. The medium-security prison was closed in 2011 but previously served as a youth reform farm started by then-Gov. Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
After the state closed the prison, the land was acquired by the Town of Warwick which established the Warwick Valley Office of Technology and Corporate Park.
Mike Sweeton, Town of Warwick supervisor, said officials are hoping to attract other hemp businesses to the area.
“We settled very quickly on a hemp development cluster in Warwick.” – Sweeton to the News
However, New York Agriculture and Markets Commissioner Richard Ball said last month officials do not intend to submit a state plan for the 2021 hemp growing season unless the U.S. Department of Agriculture changes certain program requirements. New Yorkers are still able to obtain hemp cultivation licenses through the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service but would be beholden to federal, rather than state, rules.
The 9,000-square-foot testing lab boasts a 48-hour turnaround time and is one of the most advanced cannabis and hemp testing labs in the state. Marco Pedone, the lab’s co-founder, said that they will test for potency, pesticides, biotoxins, and heavy metals.
The lab would also test cannabis for recreational sales, which will likely be a legislative priority for New York lawmakers next session after two years of start-and-stop negotiations and an extraordinary budget deficit caused, in part, by the state’s coronavirus shutdown.
House Democrats in Missouri are claiming that the Department of Health and Senior Services – the agency responsible for regulating the state’s medical cannabis program – obstructed an oversight committee’s investigation of the program, according to a memo by House Democrats’ council outlined by the Kansas City Star.
The memo, written by Casey Millburg, counsel for the Missouri House Democratic Caucus, also contends that Republican Gov. Mike Parson’s office was able to influence how industry applications were scored and a report that was used to limit the number of licenses awarded, the report says. Moreover, Millburg said one of the consultants hired to score the applications had a conflict of interest.
“The allegations of executive branch interference in the committee’s work and the potential implications that raises are disturbing. Unfortunately, a careful and thorough review of the records provided to the committee raises other serious concerns.” – Millburg in the memo via the Star
The memo was filed shortly after more than 800 cannabis companies who had their applications denied filed appeals against the decision. A February review by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch found that about two dozen groups that each won five or more licenses had ties to out-of-state cannabusinesses or the Missouri Medical Cannabis Trade Association (MoCannTrade). The approvals for companies linked to MoCannTrade are part of a broader investigation by the House because of the organization’s ties to Steve Tilley, an advisor to the governor who also serves as a lobbyist for the cannabis trade group.
Parson decried Millburg’s memo as political – a product of the Democrats with an election looming.
“There’s absolutely no interference. I don’t even know why some aide would be able to write a letter and all of a sudden that even becomes newsworthy,” Parson said to reporters on Tuesday. “If we do that, we’ll be chasing stories from here ‘til Election Day on both sides of it. It’s ridiculous even to be repeated.”
The memo contends that the husband and wife co-founders of cannabis company KindBio had direct communication with Chad Westom, the founder of cannabis consultancy firm Veracious Compliance Solutions. The memo alleges that Veracious joined with Oaksterdam University to form Wise Health Solutions (WHS) – the company that scored the applications.
The memo further claims that the wife had spoken to Westom about her industry application.
“At the point Mr. Westom’s conversation with KindBio occurred, all involved in WHS would have been well aware of their obligation to avoid conflicts of interest, such as by simultaneously consulting for a vertically integrated marijuana client in Missouri while scoring marijuana licensure applications,” the memo alleges.
The husband and wife firm were ultimately awarded a license and Westom subsequently offered his company’s consulting services.
Westom has previously denied any potential conflict of interest, telling the Star that the firm was “extremely diligent to prevent even the appearance of a conflict, and all personnel provided the State of Missouri with a signed attestation regarding confidentiality and conflict of interest.”
The Canadian Automobile Association (CAA) has launched a public education campaign warning young people about the dangers of consuming cannabis edibles and driving. The Do Anything but Drive campaign’s message is, “if you’re going to do edibles, do anything but drive,” the group said.
The ads, which stop short of preaching full abstinence from cannabis, rely on the tired “stoner” stereotype as a gimmick to persuade teens and young adults against driving after eating edibles.
Jeff Walker, president and CEO of CAA North & East Ontario, said that when it comes to edibles and driving, “there is no gray area or room for debate.”
“Cannabis edibles stay in your system longer and can produce some really varied reactions that can be skewed by a multitude of factors, including how much food is in your stomach. Cannabis consumption delays your reaction time, putting yourself and others on the road at greater risk for collisions, which can be deadly, while cannabis edibles can produce stronger, different and longer reactions. It’s simply not safe to drive after consuming them.” – Walker in a press release
CAA research suggests that 20 percent of Canadian 18-24-year-olds have driven a vehicle while under the influence of cannabis or been in a vehicle with someone intoxicated by cannabis. A poll from the organization earlier this year found 50 percent of young Canadians believe it is safe to drive less than five hours after consuming cannabis, with 12 percent saying that their driving is better or at least the same after consumption.
Notably, while the CAA campaign hinges on the “stoner” stereotype, the vast majority of Canadian cannabis consumers do not relate to that identity, according to a recent survey.
Cannabis edibles were legalized throughout Canada last fall – about a year after cannabis was broadly legalized in the nation and taxed and regulated sales commenced.
CAA was one of the organizations consulted by the government during the legalization debate.
The organization’s U.S. arm, AAA, last month donated more than $100,000 in grants to public safety, health, and law enforcement agencies and organizations in Illinois to stem cannabis-impaired driving.
Lawmakers in the Vermont House and Senate came to an agreement last night over legislation to legalize and regulate adult-use cannabis sales. The bill S.54 previously passed both legislative bodies but in different forms. Now, those differences have been reconciled and the bill needs final approval from the House and Senate it heads to the governor’s desk.
The bill includes priority licensing for small cultivators, women-owned businesses, and for businesses owned by people of color and other over-policed communities. The bill would also create a new cannabis commission that will regulate the medical and adult-use markets, and would require independent lab testing of all cannabis products sold in the new marketplace.
The bill will also require law enforcement to acquire a search warrant before conducting any saliva-based sobriety tests, and such tests would not be allowed during traffic stops.
Gov. Phil Scott (R) has not yet indicated whether he intends to sign the legislation.
“This final agreement has been a long time coming. Legislators should be applauded for their patience and their persistence. Vermont urgently needs the jobs, business opportunities, and tax revenue that S. 54 will provide. We hope Gov. Scott will see the wisdom in signing this bill into law.” — Matt Simon, Political Director for Marijuana Policy Project New England, via Heady Vermont
The regulations bill is not the only cannabis proposal making its way through Vermont’s legislative process: lawmakers there recently approved cannabis expungement legislation, as well.
In 2018, Vermont lawmakers made history as the first U.S. state legislature to approve cannabis legalization. That bill, however, stopped short of establishing a regulated marketplace.
A cadre of cannabis advocacy and industry organizations have filed an amicus brief in the case challenging the constitutionality of cannabis prohibition, arguing that the federal government has allowed the nullification of cannabis laws by allowing medical and recreational use programs to exist.
The case was first filed in 2017 but was dismissed by a U.S. Southern District of New York judge in 2018. Attorneys Michael Hiller and Joseph Bondy – who brought the case on behalf of medical cannabis patients – have asked the Supreme Court to hear the case.
The amicus – or friend-of-the-court – brief was filed on behalf of The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), Empire State NORML, the New York City Cannabis Industry Association (NYCCIA), the Hudson Valley Cannabis Industry Association (HVCIA), and the New York City Cannabis Bar by NORML Legal Committee member David Holland, Esq.
In a statement, Holland contends the brief “exposes a fundamental paradox – if cannabis is federally illegal for all purposes, and the three coordinate branches of federal government have acted to allow for cannabis businesses, then the federal government is nullifying its own law.”
“Simply put, under the Constitution, something cannot be illegal and legal at the same time especially when it comes to state laws that conflict with federal laws. The only resolution to this constitutional conflict is for the Supreme Court to invoke the doctrine of estoppel to prevent the federal government from reversing course and retroactively penalizing that which it has protected in fostering state cannabis programs and effectively legalizing it.” – Holland in a statement
The lawsuit – Washington v. Barr – contends that the federal government “does not believe, and upon information and belief never has believed” that cannabis meets Schedule I requirements under the Controlled Substances Act.
In the dismissal, the court had ruled that the plaintiffs had not exhausted administrative options for rescheduling cannabis – namely petitioning the Drug Enforcement Administration. The plaintiffs argue that those current administrative mechanisms are “illusory.”
A decision by the Supreme Court on whether they will hear the case is not expected until next year.
A social equity kitchen aimed to support people of color interested in the cannabis infusion industry has opened in Oakland, according to the Bay Area Reporter. The project was launched this week by Breeze Distro CEO Amber E. Senter and her business partner Cesar Angobaldo, who secured a $250,000 grant from the city through their Equity Works Incubator program.
According to the report, the city funds will be used to train five equity fellows in a one-year program focused on cannabis-infused edibles. Senter said the goal of the Equity Works Incubator is “to train, empower, and build capacity for full engagement in the cannabis market, especially for communities who have been historically targeted by the war on drugs to break into the legal cannabis industry.”
“People of color have been engaging in recipe development, extraction, and consumption of infused cannabis products for decades. Black- and Brown-owned cannabis brands reportedly… represent 3 percent of the cannabis companies in California. The edibles category are California’s fastest and largest growing cannabis segment with 20 percent year over year growth.” – Senter, in a statement via the Reporter
Each approved applicant will be provided a 1,200-square-foot commercial kitchen space and mentorship by a cannabis industry executive along with a “guaranteed distribution channel” to retailers, Senter said.
Senter said the project is the first state-funded cannabis edibles manufacturing incubator for social equity business owners in the nation.
The University of Wisconsin-Platteville Continuing Education Institute is offering the state’s first cannabis industry certificate programs, including Business of Cannabis, Cannabis Law and Policy, and Cannabis Healthcare and Medicine.
The program – a partnership with cannabis education company Green Flower – is set to launch next month.
Kerie Wedige, executive director of the Continuing Education Institute of UW-Platteville, told the Shepard Express that she expects the cannabis industry to “grow very quickly” over the next decade.
“One of the nice parts about the cannabis industry, there’s so many different areas that somebody can be involved with. There is the agricultural aspect from seed to sale, the medical and health care, the business, law and policy… There are so many different places where you can insert yourself into the industry, and these programs give a broad instruction that helps you build your knowledge and see how you’d be a good fit in the industry.” – Wedige to the Express
Max Simon, CEO and founder of Green Flower, said the demand for cannabis education programming “is off the charts.”
“As the industry continues to grow, we are extremely confident that this partnership will be beneficial to the university and to those seeking a way to enter a new career or enhance what they currently do,” he said in a statement.
Each certificate program is non-credit – which means enrollees don’t have to be UW-Platteville students – and contain three eight-week courses. Tuition for each program is $2,500.
According to a Leafly report, the legal cannabis industry supports 243,700 jobs nationwide, which represents a 15 percent growth rate.
It’s wildfire season in the U.S. and cannabis companies up and down the West Coast are feeling the impact. From burned farms and property to potentially contaminated crops from prolonged exposure to smoke, heat, and fire retardant, cannabis businesses in California and Oregon are bracing for yet another difficult fall.
The wildfires, which have reportedly claimed at least 35 lives and burned millions of acres so far, have also sparked camaraderie among cannabis businesses who might otherwise be considered competitors.
Oregon
In Oregon, about 20 percent of the state’s licensed cannabis businesses received evacuation orders as the fires were fueled by an unlikely and dramatic wind storm last week. The fires darkened the sky with smoke, which bathed everything in a persistent, orange-red glow.
Candice Paschal, owner/operator of Paschal Farms in Molalla, Oregon, said their farm was placed under a mandatory evacuation order last Tuesday as three surrounding wildfires — the Riverside fire, the Santiam fire, and the Wilhoit fire — closed in on the region. As firefighters became spread too thin, however, Paschal said that a group of about 40 Molalla locals stayed through the evacuation order to fight the approaching Wilhoit fire. The town, including neighboring cannabis farms, “poured equipment, food, and supplies” into the firefighting camp, she said.
“Young men operating private dozers and tanker trucks stopped the Wilhoit fire in its tracks,” Paschal said. “These people are heroes and the town has been calling them The Molalla 40. They saved us and many others from complete catastrophe. It’s an absolute miracle this happened and shows you the power of community and love.”
Volunteers stayed behind to fight the Wilhoit fire outside of Molalla, Oregon. Photo provided by Candice Paschal.
“We have been truly blown away by the Oregon cannabis industry family reaching out to help one another. I don’t think there’s any other community like it in the world.” — Candice Paschal, in an emailed statement
Not all businesses were so lucky, however, and reports indicate that multiple cannabis farms in southern Oregon were lost to the blaze. Dispensary locations also suffered enormous losses, including the Talent Health Club in Talent, Oregon.
Paschal, whose farm and crops were luckily spared, said that some cannabis businesses have been offering storage, supplies, and other assistance to those who were not so lucky.
The industry has also come forward to organize relief for families who lost their homes, including the Benson Arbor Southern Relief Fund, a GoFundMe campaign organized by Benson Arbor owner Noah Levine.
California
In California, evacuation orders were issued last week for parts of The Emerald Triangle — a cannabis-fertile area in northern California comprised of Mendocino, Humboldt, and Trinity counties — as the state’s largest-ever wildfire bore down on the region.
Some local officials expressed concerns about cannabis industry workers there, thousands of whom flock to the region during this time of year as harvest season approaches. The worker migrants are “not familiar with the territory let alone a massive wildland fire knocking at their door,” said state Sen. Mike McGuire.
Farmers had to weigh the risks of an early harvest, which can heighten the risk of microbial contamination due to rush-jobs on storage, Marijuana Business Daily reports, versus waiting it out, which can lead to other complications including other potential contaminants and a distinct, smokey flavor that gets entwined with the buds.
California’s ongoing fire woes, however, are only the latest in what has already been a painful fire season — multiple cannabis farms were lost last month during wildfires around the San Francisco Bay Area.
Last month, Leafly recounted one cannabis grower’s hellish experience as he tried futilely to save his farm in Alameda County from a rampant wildfire.
Looking forward
It’s impossible to know the full extent of damage done to the cannabis industry by the 2020 wildfires — after all, many of the fires are still burning — but it’s expected that total losses will be in the tens of millions of dollars. There are also likely to be ripple effects felt in the supply chain in the coming months to lost and/or contaminated harvests.
David Najera, a cannabis consultant and farmer in Mendocino County, told Marijuana Business Daily that cannabis farmers need to start treating annual wildfires as a “new normal” on the West Coast.
“You’ve got to do a lot of fire prevention,” Najera said. “We’re looking at bringing in livestock to keep all our weeds down and all the brush. You should have weekly fire safety meetings. A lot of people just aren’t prepared. You should have a 5-10-minute drill where you can evacuate at a moment’s notice.”
According to a Yale School of Public Health study, states with legal cannabis had fewer cases of e-cigarette or vaping use-associated lung injury (EVALI) than states with prohibition, according to a Westword report.
Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin accounted for a “high-prevalence cluster” of EVALI cases – 25 to 114 cases per 100,000 residents – while Alaska, California, Colorado, Oregon and Washington, the first five states to legalize cannabis, each had under one recorded case per 100,000 residents, the study found.
Study author and Yale School of Public Health Assistant Professor Abigail Friedman said that if e-cigarette or cannabis use drove the outbreak of the disease, “areas with more engagement in those behaviors should show a higher EVALI prevalence.”
“This study finds the opposite result. Alongside geographic clusters of high EVALI prevalence states, these findings are more consistent with locally available e-liquids or additives driving the EVALI outbreak than a widely used, nationally-available product.” – Friedman in a statement via Westword
A study conducted by the California Department of Public Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that nearly all EVALI patients in the state had purchased unregulated products.
In the CDC’s final update on nationwide case totals in February, the agency counted 2,807 EVALI hospitalizations nationwide and 68 confirmed deaths in 29 states and Washington, D.C. The CDC identified vaping additive vitamin E acetate as the culprit for the illness, which led to bans on the substance in Washington state, Ohio, and Michigan.
The Yale study suggests that markets with established cannabis markets “may have crowded out use of riskier, informally sourced e-liquids” but the use of risky vape products will remain prevalent in states without legal cannabis access.
A recent survey of Canadian cannabis users found 72 percent don’t believe they fit the ‘stoner’ stereotype, according to the poll conducted by cannabis brand Figr and market researcher Maru/Blue outlined by the Peace River Record Gazette.
The vast majority of consumers from Ontario and British Columbia – 90 percent and 87 percent respectively – said the stoner stereotype was outdated, along with 66 percent of those from Alberta.
The survey found that 43 percent of respondents prefer to purchase cannabis online via company websites and those run by provincial corporations.
About seven out of 10 Canadians (71 percent) said that outdoor activities would be enhanced while using cannabis, including walks (44 percent), camping (43 percent), and hiking (33 percent). Another 78 percent polled said cannabis made them feel relaxed, while 69 percent described being under the influence of cannabis as calm, 55 percent described it as happy, 35 percent said they felt productive, and 25 percent said consuming cannabis made them energized. 35 percent of respondents said cannabis helps them do household chores, including 51 percent of females surveyed.
The poll found 61 percent of those surveyed indicated they were confident that they know and understand the rules of public consumption in their province. Public use is allowed in Alberta, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, and Ontario. Each province has different restrictions on public cannabis consumption, including only allowing cannabis smoking where tobacco use is already allowed, prohibiting use near schools and churches, and only in low-traffic areas such as trails and parks when they are not used for public events.
The lawsuit challenging Utah’s legislative replacement of the medical cannabis initiative approved by voters is being dropped, Fox13 reports. The plaintiffs, Together for Responsible Use and Cannabis Education (TRUCE) and the Epilepsy Association of Utah (EAU), said that while the case may not make it to trial, they consider the case a victory as it forced lawmakers to backtrack on using state employees to dispense to patients.
TRUCE founder Christine Stenquist said that the advocates still hope that other organizations will join a broader legal fight against the state over whether lawmakers have the ability to override citizen-approved ballot initiatives.
“While this lawsuit is coming to an end, the fight for a real medical cannabis system for the state of Utah, which will meet all patient needs, continues. And in that effort TRUCE remains ‘the mouse that roared,’ bringing attention to a much-needed cause, which, while unnecessarily stymied, has made real progress towards reforming Utah’s cannabis laws.” — Stenquist to Fox13
TRUCE and EAU did get attorneys fees as part of the settlement.
Earlier this year, Gov. Gary Herbert (R) signed legislation allowing patients to use letters from physicians to purchase medical cannabis in the state – but only until the end of the year when officials anticipate the Department of Health will begin issuing identification cards.
Stenquest said advocates are still pushing for caps of patient recommendations by physicians be removed as few physicians are willing to write patient letters, according to a Fox13 investigation.
Martha Stewart has partnered with Canopy Growth on a CBD product line set for a release this week after more than a year in development, CNN reports. The products will be sold online via the Canopy website and will range from $34.99 to $44.99 with a line of pet products set for later this year.
“I was surprised to learn that while most people have heard of CBD, less than 20 percent of us have actually tried it. For me, that signals a lot of opportunity to create beautiful, elevated products that help people live well.” – Stewart via CNN
David Klein, Canopy’s CEO, told CNN Stewart “brings that trusted voice” to the market.
Stewart was closely involved with the development of the products, which include gummies that resemble pâte de fruits, and flavors such as Meyer lemon, kumquat, blood orange, and huckleberry. Stewart said that she is working on a separate CBD skincare project – called 86 Elm – with a dermatologist.
The Martha Stewart brand is owned by Marquee Brands, which acquired it from Sequential Brands Group last year, along with the Emeril Lagasse brand, for $175 million.
Stewart was reportedly introduced to Canopy by Snoop Dogg and his talent agency, Stampede Management. The duo has collaborated on several projects throughout the years. Snoop’s Leafs by Snoop brand is also produced in partnership with Canopy.
Canada’s agricultural sector bucked the general economic decline caused by the coronavirus during the first half of the year due to strong cannabis sales, according to Statistics Canada figures outlined by Moose Jaw Today.
Farm cash receipts totaled $16.7 billion – an increase of 5.2 percent – but were driven by $685 million in cannabis, a 62 percent increase. If not for cannabis sales. Farm cash receipts would have increased just .8 percent, the report says.
In all, crop receipts totaled $1.3 billion but the nation saw a $629 million decline in livestock sales mostly due to lockdown restrictions imposed by the pandemic.
A report by Statistics Canada released last month found that Canada‘s cannabis sector is worth $1.7 billion but 54 percent of product sales still occur in the unregulated market. Cannabis was considered an essential service throughout most of Canada during the national response. Statistics Canada said cannabis sales increased by 19 percent in March as the country shut down non-essential services like bars and restaurants.
Like the agricultural sector, cannabis sales also bucked the 10 percent pandemic-related decline in the retail sector.
In all, since October 2018, legal cannabis sales have contributed $3.96 billion to Canada’s gross domestic product. Statistics Canada also reported that estimated illicit cannabis sales contributed $4.13 billion to the nation’s economy, down about 21 percent since the rollout of the regulated industry.
Delaware State University has received a $591,628 grant from the National Science Foundation for hemp research. The endowment will allow undergraduates to participate in the university’s College of Agriculture, Science and Technology hemp research program.
The project, called the “Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) Hemp Initiative Project,” will be interdisciplinary, involving university science disciplines.
According to the university, chemistry students participating in the program will investigate extraction techniques for the desired end-use of hemp products and biofuel feedstock. Biological sciences students will be engaged in cancer research, investigating the conditions under which CBD induces cell death versus when cells are protected against cell-damaging stressors.
Food science students will research different methods of extraction of food protein from hemp seed protein powder and hemp seed oil and test the methods’ effectiveness. Animal science students will look at the effects of hemp extract on parasitic larvae in light of the increased drug resistance of parasites.
Dr. Kimberly Milligan, visiting assistant professor of chemistry and principal investigator of the grant, said that students “have a greater connection to their discoveries and learning when they can visualize the link between what they are learning in lab and real-world applications.”
“Research has shown that students who engage in research benefit from a wide range of outcomes, including more confidence in their abilities to do science, a greater connection with the scientific community, and increased persistence in science.” – Milligan, in a statement
DSU was tabbed by the state to be the lead research entity in its Hemp Research Pilot Project, which was included in the state’s hemp legalization bill. DSU has partnered with Kentucky State University on the project.
The Virginia House and Senate each approved a bill to expunge low-level cannabis crimes this week.
Senate Bill 5043 would give cannabis convicts the opportunity to have their police and court records wiped of their charges. According to an official summary, “The bill requires the person to have paid all court costs, fines, and restitution, and for five years to have elapsed since the date of conviction, depending on the nature of the offense.” The proposal would also allow for the expungement of other minor, non-cannabis crimes including the use of a fake ID to purchase alcohol.
House Bill 5146 would create a process for the “automated expungement” of records for criminal offenses that have been since been overruled or otherwise dismissed. Under the state’s recent decriminalization law, that would include simple cannabis possession.
Cannabis advocates hope that lawmakers will either advance both proposals or somehow consolidate the bills into a unified push to put expungement reforms on the governor’s desk.
“Taken together, these bills put forward significant reforms that hold the potential to transform Virginia’s expungement law from one of the worst in the country to one of the most robust and accessible. By passing and fully implementing these bills, policymakers can ensure that a life-changing, second chance is within reach for more Virginians and their families.” — Phil Hernandez, Senior Policy Fellow & Counsel for The Commonwealth Institute, via Blue Virginia
Expungement was just the latest cannabis topic addressed by Virginia lawmakers during the special summer session: the Senate advanced legislation last month that seeks to block police officers from using cannabis odor as grounds to search a vehicle, while a landmark decriminalization bill was signed into law by Gov. Ralph Northam (D) in April.
Nebraska’s Supreme Court has ruled that the state’s medical cannabis initiative violated the single-issue rule, preventing it from appearing on ballots in November, the Lincoln Journal-Star reports. The case was brought to the court on behalf of Lancaster County Sheriff Terry Wagner.
The state’s highest court determined that the question and various other provisions included in the proposal lacked natural and necessary connection to each other and that it had a total of eight issues, the report says.
The general purpose of the measure was to create a constitutional right for seriously ill people to use and produce medical cannabis with a recommendation by a licensed physician or nurse practitioner. Subsections of the proposal would have allowed patients the constitutional property right to sell and grow cannabis and give them criminal immunity from current state law. Other parts of the act would have barred smoking cannabis in public or operating a motor vehicle while under the influence – these, the court rules, were not naturally connected to the general subject.
Democratic State Sens. Anna Wishart and Adam Morfeld, who sponsored both the petition initiative and a bill to legalize medical cannabis, said in a statement that they were “deeply disappointed by the ruling and promised to go “back to the ballot and to the Legislature.”
The state Senate last year tabled a medical cannabis proposal even after Wishart agreed to all of the opposition’s amendments to limit products and delivery methods.
Secretary of State Bob Evnen told the Journal-Star that he would comply with the Supreme Court ruling.
Employees at Massachusetts’ Sira Naturals on Friday ratified their Collective Bargaining Agreement with United Food and Commercial Workers, Local 1445, the first cannabis employees in the state to sign a labor contract. The employees at Sira facilities in Milford, Needham, and Somerville voted to join the union last year.
UFCW 1445 President Fernando Lemus called the three-year agreement “a mutually beneficial agreement for all employees that includes better wages, healthcare options, a retirement plan, and increased workplace safety and accountability.”
In a Facebook post, the union said the contract also includes holiday pay, the creation of a labor management committee, rights to a grievance procedure, seniority protection, and a job bid system.
In a statement, Local 1445 Political and Organizing Director Gabe Camacho applauded Sira for proving “to be a responsible corporate citizen.”
“We hope the controlling bodies over the cannabis industry in Massachusetts will take notice and award licenses to responsible employers, like Sira, that treat their workers fairly – good employee relations can only serve to benefit operators, municipalities, and entire communities of disenfranchised people.” – Camacho in a press release
Sira employees were the first in Massachusetts to vote to unionize. Since then, Local 328 won an election at Curaleaf’s Hanover dispensary, Local 1445 filed petitions with the state to represent workers at Cultivate in Leicester, and employees at New England Treatment Access’s Franklin cultivation facility and Workers at Mayflower Medicinals in Holliston voted to join Local 1445.
None of those employees have yet ratified a contract.
Australia’s cannabis stocks have reacted positively to news of the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) interim decision to pave the way for over the counter cannabidiol (CBD) sales without a prescription at pharmacies.
The decision will go a long way to helping Australia’s cannabis companies bring their products to market.
Creso Pharma Limited (ASX: CPH, FRA: 1X8) is one company to welcome the decision.
The TGA’s decision recommends that CBD products be down-scheduled from schedule 4 and classified as schedule 3 medicines in Australia.
This would allow Australian consumers to purchase CBD products over-the-counter (OTC) through pharmacies without the requirement of a prescription.
The decision follows recommendations from the National Advisory Committee on Medicines Scheduling (ACMS) and Advisory Committee on Chemicals Scheduling (ACCS), with both committees being within Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).
The interim decision will follow a consultation period with a final decision to be reached by 1 February, 2021.
$200 million market in Australia
This development unlocks a major opportunity for Creso Pharma CBD and hemp products, and management will look to progress a number of opportunities to capitalise on a market which is estimated to be valued at $200 million and set to grow rapidly in the near term.
Creso Pharma’s cannaQIX® 50 is alreadty being sold in Australia as a medicinal cannabis product under the ‘LozaCan’ brand via distribution partner Burleighs Heads Cannabis’ (BHC).
Creso Pharma has developed various cannabidiol (CBD) hemp oil-based products in their cannaQIX® range using the company’s proprietary innovative delivery technology.
The products contain broad spectrum organic hemp oil extracts with CBD and they are pitched at reducing stress and supporting mental and nervous functions.
“The down scheduling of CBD products in Australia is an exciting development and provides Creso Pharma with a number of key near term opportunities,” CPH non-executive chairman Adam Blumenthal said.
“We anticipate that the Australian market will play an important role in the company’s growth trajectory and will grow significantly as CBD becomes more accepted and entrenched with consumers.
“Creso Pharma has a large GMP product range and we are confident that the company’s offering will be well received in Australia.’
“Board and management are currently progressing a number of strategies to grow our market share and we look forward to providing regular updates to shareholders.”
Creso Pharma’s competitive edge
The cannaQIX® range of products has several features that set them aside from other competing products, being sugar-free and containing no tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).
The standardised, user-friendly strength and formulation allows precise dosage control and the lozenges have a more palatable taste compared to oils.
The cannaQIX® range has been developed to Good Manufacturing Practice standards and is produced in Switzerland by Creso Pharma’s partner, Swiss-based food and pharma development company, Domaco, Dr. med Aufdermaur AG.
The presence of a ‘’Swiss Made’’ label emphasises the premium quality control measures that define Creso Pharma’s products.
A partner at one of the 21 companies that secured a spot for Illinois’ upcoming cannabis license lottery is an employee of the company that received a no-bid contract to grade applications for the licensing round, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
Hamd Kamal works as a risk management consultant for KPMG and is listed as a manager for EHR Holdings LLC. According to the report, the principal address for EHR is a head shop also run by Kamal.
KPMG was awarded a $4.2 million contract through the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. EHR earned perfect scores on its applications – like the other 20 approved companies.
KPMG spokesman James McGann confirmed Kamal’s employment status with the firm to the Sun-Times but said “he was not part of the engagement team that scored the applications.”
“The scoring process was objective, following the state’s criteria, with a blind scoring methodology. The team scoring the applications would have no knowledge of the names or affiliations of applicants. A separate team scored certain aspects of the application, such as social equity.” – McGann to the Sun-Times
EHR spokesman Eric Kowalczyk defended any possible link, saying that the company only learned of any association between it and KPMG “two days ago.” However, Jordan Abudayyeh, a spokeswoman for Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) said that KPMG “had a plan in place to ensure that any potential conflicts of interest were addressed and did not influence the process.”
“They are a large international firm with experience ensuring there aren’t conflicts of interest,” she said in the report.
KPMG holds another $2.5 million no-bid contract by the state Department of Agriculture to grade applications for cultivation, transport, and cannabis infusion licenses.
