In a study to be published in The International Journal of Pure and Applied Analytical Chemistry, researchers have revealed that it is possible to use a hard-cap espresso machine to create cannabis extracts. The team of researchers made the extracts, meant to be used for analysis, with a common laboratory solvent and a $300 espresso machine.
The study was conducted by researchers from the University of Valencia in Spain using cannabis that had been seized by law enforcement.
“It has been evidenced that the developed method for the major cannabinoids extraction is a really encouraging example of the wide range of possibilities that a conventional and low cost hard cap espresso assisted extraction could offer in analytical laboratories.” — Excerpt from the study “Fast extraction of cannabinoids in marijuana samples by using hard-cap espresso machines”
Researchers compared extractions of THC, CBD and CBN made with the espresso machine and the solvent 2-propanol to a more traditional ultrasound-assisted extraction using both gas chromatography and ion mobility spectrometry. The method was comparable in accuracy and more importantly, vastly cheaper and faster.
This method of extraction could be used in a laboratory setting but deserves more experimentation to see how else it may be employed. Researchers in a variety of chemical fields have lately been using hard-cap espresso extraction (HCEE) to obtain samples for analysis.
Constellation Brands, the brewer of Corona beer and a major distributor for Svedka vodka, just invested nearly $4 billion (CAD $5 billion) into Canada’s Canopy Growth, Marketwatch reports. It isthe largest investment ever in the cannabis industry.
After news of the announcement broke, Canopy Growth — which is publicly listed on both the New York and Toronto stock exchanges — saw its share values skyrocket up almost 30 percent across both stock exchanges.
Constellation Brands first partnered with Canopy Growth in October 2017, when the alcohol giant agreed to buy a 9.9 percent stake in the company for about $191 million (CAD $245 million). But with this investment, Constellation’s stake in Canopy Growth has increased to 38 percent; there are also options on the table for Canadian cannabis producers to access an additional $3.4 billion in investments down the line, which would give Constellation more than a 50 percent stake in the company.
Wells Fargo analyst Bonnie Herzog told Marketwatch this is a smart move for Constellation Brands, as it “further solidifies Constellation Brands’ first-mover advantage” among other major brewers and alcohol companies.
“While there could be some cannibalization risk for Constellation Brands beer/alcohol portfolio, we believe the strategic partnership will ultimately be incremental to Constellation Brands’ core business, especially as the deal opens the door to tremendous white space opportunities globally – beyond Constellation Brands’ current U.S. limits with its core brands.” — Bonnie Herzog, analyst for Wells Fargo, via Marketwatch
Cannabis entrepreneurs have long predicted that Big Alcohol will dip into the cannabis space. After the bold investment by Constellation Brands, cannabis stocks seemed to enjoy a slight increase across the board on Wednesday, as the move signals a willingness among major alcohol companies and other players to make big investments — and take big risks — on the burgeoning cannabis industry.
“These alcohol and tobacco companies are starting to better understand the cannabis industry and the opportunity for large scale growth. Mood modifying beverages for socialization is a natural segway for their businesses. As people continue to move toward a more healthy lifestyle and recognize some of the negative effects that alcohol may have on the body, I think we are only going to see this trend continue and get stronger.” — Beth Stavola, president and founder of MPX Bioceutical Corp., in a statement
The city of Sacramento, California voted in favor of a cannabis equity program that helps the communities and people most harmed by cannabis prohibition last week, reports CBS. Sacramento is the fourth city in California to establish a cannabis equity program after Oakland, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.
The cannabis equity program in Sacramento fast-tracks cannabis business entrepreneurs and job seekers who live in particular zip codes with previous nonviolent cannabis offenses on their or their family’s record. The program waives business permit fees — valued at tens of thousands of dollars — and provides mentorship and business support.
“We have a goal of having 50 percent of all licenses be awarded to those who were impacted by the war on drugs. If you were sent to jail or arrested and you were in an area that was disproportionately impacted — you experienced generational poverty.” — Malaki Seku-Amen, president of the California Urban Partnership, via CBS
Programs encouraging social equity in an effort to fight the negative social effects of the war on drugs have begun to crop up across the nation. Massachusetts made a special effort to develop such a program earlier this year. Decades of cannabis and other drug prohibition has disproportionately affected minority communities, enhancing generational cycles of poverty and incarceration that grow exceedingly more difficult to break out of.
In November, the United Nations will perform a deep review of cannabis’ scheduling status under the 1962 Single Convention treaty, which coordinates international drug laws, reports Marijuana Moment‘s Tom Angell.
The UN World Health Organization’s Expert Committee on Drug Dependence found in a pre-review in June that there was sufficient scientific evidence to support a full critical review of cannabis’ status, the first part of a multi-step review process. The review will consider cannabis from multiple scientific viewpoints with epidemiological and pharmacological analyses.
“Thankfully the World Health Organization has accepted the challenge of evaluating the placement of cannabis in the 1962 Single Convention treaty. Cannabis placement in the treaty was done in the absence of scientific evaluation and has provided the basis for a moral campaign against drugs by the USA for many decades. Since our work on medical access to cannabis has been based upon scientific inquiry we know that any rational assessment of the evidence leads the observer to understand cannabis indeed has proven medicinal value and, compared to other medicines, has profoundly fewer negative side effects.” — Michael Krawitz of Veterans for Medical Cannabis Access, via Marijuana Moment
If the UN decides to reschedule cannabis, this would trigger a U.S. review of the plant’s scheduling. After the full review in November, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will receive the committee’s report and bring the issue to the UN floor.
Guterres was prime minister of Portugal in 2001 when the country decriminalized the possession of small amounts of all drugs.
Canadian hemp growers can now harvest the entire hemp plant — including its flowers, buds, and leaves — after Health Canada established new rules on August 10, Producer.com reports.
Previously, hemp farmers could only farm the plant for its seeds and fiber.
The move is expected to open access to another potentially massive source of cannabidiol (CBD), a cannabinoid found in cannabis and hemp plants that has medicinal properties but not an intoxicating effect. This will also give hemp farmers access to a medicinal products marketplace in addition to just food and textiles.
“These new parts (of hemp) are economically valuable and will provide a new source of CBD and potentially other cannabinoid products.” — The Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance, in a statement
The new rules are attached to The Cannabis Act, which will fully legalize cannabis and hemp in Canada starting October 17. The hemp harvesting rules were changed earlier to give farmers, manufacturers, and other entrepreneurs time to develop the technologies and procedures for processing hemp into CBD products.
“We need to experiment with harvest, preservation and storage technologies, and this exemption means we won’t waste a year, which would have been the case if we were unable to collect plant material until Oct. 17.” — Jeff Kostuik of Hemp Genetics International, via Producer.com
While farmers can now harvest and store all parts of the hemp plant, they cannot sell any products made from hemp flowers, buds, and leaves until after The Cannabis Act takes effect.
A U.S. District Judge in New Jersey has ruled that an employer can indefinitely suspend an employee for his doctor-prescribed medical cannabis, The Daily Journalreports.
Ardagh Glass in Bridgeton, New Jersey did not allow medical cannabis patient Daniel Cotto Jr. to return to work after he refused a drug test. Cotto claims his employer knew about his use of medical cannabis, which was prescribed for chronic pain due to a severe neck and back injury in 2007. Cotto has provided a doctor’s note saying he is capable of operating machinery while medicated.
Cotto filed a lawsuit against Ardagh Glass which argued that, by not allowing him to return to work, the company had violated New Jersey‘s anti-discrimination laws and the Compassionate Use of Medical Marijuana Act (CUMMA), which allows Cotto to be prescribed medical cannabis.
U.S. District Judge Robert Kugler’s decision found that the point of law allowing Ardagh Glass to deny Cotto his work hinged on mandatory drug testing. Under the language of CUMMA, Kugler wrote, an employer cannot be compelled to waive a drug testing requirement.
Other judges across the nation have delivered mixed rulings regarding medical cannabis for employees, including other decisions in New Jersey. In July, a Workers’ Compensation Judge ruled that Freehold Township, New Jersey had to pay for an injured worker’s medical cannabis treatment. That ruling ran counter to the decision in Cotto v. Ardagh Glass, and more contradictory rulings can be expected until federal legalization cleans the slate.
The Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), after months of considering qualified candidates, has hired activist Steve Hawkins to the position of executive director, the organization announced today via press release.
Hawkins has spent three decades as an advocate, policy strategist, nonprofit leader, and foundation executive in the movement for criminal justice reform. His experience in public education, stakeholder mobilization, and the engagement of government officials — as well as a knack for “developing strategic alliances with business leaders, law enforcement officials, scholars, faith leaders, victims’ advocates, and other key voices” — qualified him for the position.
“Steve has a strong track record in the field of criminal justice reform, and he knows how to build a movement toward meaningful social change. We were not only impressed by his expertise and experience, but also his strong convictions regarding the injustice of marijuana prohibition.” — Troy Dayton, chair of the MPP board of directors, in the press release
Some of Hawkins’ previous positions include the executive vice president of the NAACP and the executive director for Amnesty International.
“Throughout my career, I have witnessed the counterproductive effects of the war on marijuana and its especially devastating impact on communities of color. MPP has been at the vanguard of changing public perceptions and public policies surrounding marijuana, and I am proud to join this incredible team of advocates at such a critical moment in the movement to end marijuana prohibition.” — Steve Hawkins, Executive Director for the Marijuana Policy Project, in a statement
The prices of cannabis retail items like vapes, batteries, filters, cartridges, and packaging may soon increase thanks to President Trump’s proposed tariffs, Forbes reports.
The tariffs will force vape manufacturers to locate new American suppliers or be quickly out-competed by the companies that do. American-made equipment in this category is far more expensive.
The increase in prices is expected to decrease sales and tax revenues, hurting not only the private companies’ bottom lines but also the budgets of states with legal sales. Colorado logged more than $247 million in tax revenue from cannabis sales in 2017; 25 percent of those sales were in the category of cannabis vaporizers.
Other components beyond vapes — such as construction and grow equipment and even cell phones — will also increase in price.
Companies in the cannabis space are especially vulnerable to product cost increases as they are unable to deduct the usual business expenses before paying taxes due to the federal status of cannabis; those business deductions are fundamental to how the vast majority of business works in the United States.
Growers are expected to suffer the most with the tariffs because, of all operators in the cannabis space, their margins are typically the slimmest and many already struggle to make ends meet.
Online retail giant Shopify has been cutting huge deals with Canadian provinces and cannabis producers to set itself up as the largest cannabis point-of-sale and inventory management platform, reports The Motley Fool.
Shopify has signed contracts with the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia, as well as with Aurora Cannabis, Canopy Growth Corp., Hydropothecary Corp., and others. Shopify’s deal with Ontario was made direct with the government, placing Shopify squarely in the middle of the entire cannabis industry in that province, while Shopify will function as an inventory-management go-between in British Columbia, where cannabis retail will be privatized. Aurora Cannabis and Hydropothecary Corp. are expected to be the two largest producers of cannabis in Canada once the legal market is in full swing.
Shopify’s dealings in Canada may position the company for developing a first-mover advantage when cannabis becomes federally legalized in the U.S.
Shopify’s sales are expected to top $1 billion this year alone. The company’s software-as-a-service platform dominates in a wide range of markets, but its move into the cannabis space is not expected to significantly increase total revenue just yet — though analysts predict that, by 2019 or 2020, these cannabis deals may begin to contribute significant revenue to the company’s annual total.
Despite campaigning against Colorado’s successful 2012 bid to legalize cannabis, Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock admitted last week that the city of Denver is effectively regulating cannabis and called the industry a “success,” according to a press release.
The statement was sparked by a city report that outlines the Denver industry’s journey from medical-only to a fully operational adult-use marketplace.
Some key findings of the report:
Denver’s retail cannabis sales jumped 29% from 2016 to 2017
Tax/licensing revenue from cannabis expected to increase by 8% this year
Cannabis sales tax revenues constituted about 3.4% of Denver’s general fund revenue in 2017
From 2014-2018, more than $11 million in cannabis revenues will go to youth-serving organizations by Denver’s Offices of Children’s Affairs and Behavioral health; further funding will go to Denver’s “High Costs” youth prevention campaign
Cannabis-related crimes in 2017 made up just .30% of overall crime in Denver in 2017
Cannabis industry-related crime made up “less than ½ of 1 percent” (or .21%) in 2017
“This new report demonstrates Denver’s coordinated approach between multiple agencies to manage marijuana is working. We took on the daunting challenge of becoming the first major city in America to manage legalized recreational marijuana and we are having success. That’s because of coordination between Denver’s Excise and Licenses, Denver’s Fire Department, Police Department, Department of Public Health and Environment, Community Planning and Development, as well as our partners in other city agencies, the community from the marijuana industry and public health advocates.” — Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock, in the press release
In 2012, Mayor Hancock came out against Colorado’s legalization amendment. At the time, he called cannabis a “gateway drug” and suggested that its legalization would detract from Colorado’s image and make the state less attractive to tourism and business interests.
North Dakota voters will get their chance to vote on adult-use cannabis legalization this November, according to the Associated Press.
Cannabis advocates collected and submitted more than 14,600 valid voter signatures in favor of the ballot initiative, said North Dakota Secretary of State Al Jaeger. They only needed 13,500. The proposal seeks to legalize cannabis for adults who are 21 and older and would also seal the records of anyone who had been convicted of a cannabis-related crime that would be legal under the new regulations.
Meanwhile, North Dakota’s medical cannabis law took effect in 2017 but patients have yet to get access — they haven’t even been able to apply for the program, yet — and medical cannabis products likely won’t be available until early2019, KFYR-TV reports.
The program was expected to launch this year but now that timeline has been compromised due to holdups in building approvals for cannabis product manufacturers, said Jason Wahl, director for the Division of Medical Marijuana.
State senator John Grabinger (D, District 12) said that issues with the medical program’s implementation may actually be driving momentum for the adult-use petition.
“We could have done this much quicker and taken a cue from many other states that have already implemented it and have got the medical marijuana out there to the public that is asking for it and needs it.” — State senator John Grabinger, via KFYR-TV
Facebook appears to be making it more difficult for its users to discover cannabis-themed companies, trade groups, regulators, and even media outlets. The practice was first reported last week by Marijuana Moment.
Facebook has been at odds with the cannabis industry for years. Despite the plant’s legal status in a growing number of states and the fact that it’s currently one of the most popular political topics among American voters, Facebook continues crack down on cannabis pages because they are at odds with federal law.
“Because of the borderless nature of our community, we try to enforce our policies as consistently as possible.” — Excerpt from Facebook’s Community Standards
Now, however, it appears that Facebook is taking a new approach and is “shadow banning” cannabis-related pages. Shadow banned pages have not been deleted but, instead, can no longer be discovered via Facebook search results. Users who have already “liked” the page will continue to see its content but new users will not be able to discover the page (or any of its posts/content) even if they search for it directly.
New York-based Rosie Mattio, who runs a PR agency that works for the cannabis industry, told Marijuana Business Dailythe practice could cause financial hardships for cannabis companies — many of whom rely on their social media presence to make up for a lack of advertising options.
“While Facebook has held a pretty hard line on advertising, which cannabis companies have been dealing with for years, this a big hit to cannabis businesses and brands. A company’s social pages are as important, if not more important, than their website.” — Rosie Mattio, founder of RMPR, via Marijuana Business Daily
Historically, Facebook has focused its anti-cannabis efforts on dispensaries, growers, and other “touch-the-plant” companies. But, according to the report, the victims of Facebook’s new “shadow ban” policies now include the pages of cannabis regulators, advocacy organizations, trade groups, and even media outlets.
Perhaps most frustrating, however, is that Facebook’s new enforcement actions appear to be wildly inconsistent. For example, if you search for “National Cannabis Industry Association” or “Marijuana Policy Project” on Facebook, you’ll find no results; but if you search for the “Drug Policy Alliance,” their page pops up.
Shadow banned pages can still be found via targeted Google searches.
Missouri voters will get to choose from three different medical cannabis legalization initiatives this November, according to the Bolivar Herald Free Press. Two of the initiatives are constitutional amendments and the third is a statutory amendment.
Petition 2018-041 is a constitutional amendment that would:
Legalize and regulate the use of cannabis for medical purpose
Create licensing procedures for growers/manufacturers
Impose a 15 percent retail tax
Impose a per-ounce wholesale tax on flower products
Use funds from the taxes to establish a state research institute to investigate the medicinal benefits of cannabis.
The proposal is estimated to generate about $66 million in annual taxes and licensing fees. State officials estimated the initial implementation costs at $186,000 with annual operating costs of up to $500,000.
Petition 2018-051 is a constitutional amendment that would also codify medical cannabis into the Missouri State Constitution. It would:
legalize the use of medical cannabis and create regulations/licensing procedures for cannabis cultivators and manufacturing facilities.
Impose a 4 percent retail tax
Allocate funds from those taxes for health services for military veterans and fund the regulatory agency(s) for said medical cannabis program
It’s estimated the proposal would generate up to $18 million in annual taxes and licensing fees for state operating costs and veterans programs, and up to $6 million for local governments; approximately $7 million in annual state operating costs could be expected.
Petition 2018-271 is a statutory amendment that would amend Missouri law to:
Allow doctors to certify patients with a qualifying medical condition for the personal use and possession of medical cannabis.
Create a licensed and regulated industry for the growth, possession, production, and sale of medical cannabis.
Impose a 2 percent retail tax
Use the tax money to help fund veterans’ services, drug treatment, early childhood education, and public safety in cities with MMJ
State officials estimate the initial, one-time cost of this proposal to be $2.6 million with annual costs of up to $10 million; annual revenues should be at least $10 million. Local government officials estimate zero annual costs with at least $152,000 in annual revenues.
Missouri‘s current medical cannabis program is extraordinarily limited and exists largely in name only — it covers only epilepsy patients and allows only for hemp-derived CBD oils.
Missouri is in the minority of U.S. states without a comprehensive medical cannabis program. Earlier this year, Oklahoma became the 30th state to legalize medical cannabis.
GW Pharmaceuticals has revealed the expected consumer price for Epidiolex, the first cannabidiol-based medication to be approved by the FDA, according to a Business Insider report.
At a price tag of about $32,500 per year, it won’t be cheap, but company representatives said in a phone call with investors this week that its cost reflects that of other epilepsy medications. Patients should expect a wait time of about three weeks between when a physician prescribes the medication to when they actually receive the drug.
According to Julian Gangolli, the GW representative who is in charge of commercializing the drug in the U.S., the co-pays for Epidiolex — despite its high price tag — could ultimately be cheaper than buying hemp-derived CBD products online or CBD medication from a medical cannabis dispensary; many patients, however, are expected to continue opting into the more loosely regulated gray market.
Epidiolex was developed from cannabis but contains just the cannabinoid CBD, which, unlike THC, does not have an intoxicating effect.
For now, however, CBD remains a Schedule 1 drug with “no currently accepted medical use.” The DEA was given three months from the FDA’s approval of the drug to reschedule it to a lower category under the Controlled Substances Act.
“We don’t have a choice on that. … It (CBD) absolutely has to become Schedule 2, 3, 4, or 5.” — Barbara Carreno, public affairs officer for the DEA, via Business Insider
DEA and FBI agents coordinated a massive raid early Thursday morning against more than a dozen suspected illegal cannabis grow sites throughout the Denver metro area, The Denver Post reports.
The grows were reportedly targeted for the illegal growing and distribution of cannabis across state lines.
Deanne Rueter — the DEA spokesperson in Denver, Colorado — said that the judicial warrants were the culmination of a lengthy investigation into suspected illegal drug trafficking. She said there was a heavy concentration of busts in the city of Thornton, but that police agencies in Denver, Aurora, Thornton, Commerce City, and Broomfield — as well as sheriff investigators in Jefferson and Arapahoe counties — participated in the raids.
Reuter did not disclose how many houses and/or grow sites were targeted and she said she did not know if police officers were making drug-related arrests. The situation remains an ongoing criminal investigation, she said.
This is the first major federal cannabis enforcement action in Colorado since June, 2017, when 62 people were indicted for allegedly taking part in a major illegal drug trafficking ring.
In an exciting twist for Florida’s medical cannabis marketplace, a Tallahassee judge ruled last week that the cap on cannabis operators imposed by state lawmakers “directly contradicts” the voter-approved constitutional amendment passed in 2016, the News Service of Florida reports.
Lawmakers added the restriction in 2017 while establishing rules and regulations for Florida’s medical cannabis regime.
“Such limits directly undermine the clear intent of the amendment, which by its language seeks to prevent arbitrary restriction on the number of MMTCs (medical marijuana treatment centers) authorized to conduct business in the state. The amendment mandates the availability and safe use of medical marijuana by qualifying patients.” — Leon County Circuit Judge Charles W. Dodson, in a written ruling
Judge Dodson continued, arguing that other restrictions added by lawmakers were also constitutional, including a rule forcing cannabis companies to vertically integrate instead of creating a cooperative marketplace with individual licenses for each activity — such as growing, manufacturing, or dispensing the product — and another rule that improperly restrictsthe state’s licensing process.
However, despite multiple findings that the rules established in 2017 are unconstitutional, Dodson stopped short of granting an injunction to hopeful MMJ company Florigrown, which had challenged the state after being denied a license.
But, if the ruling is upheld, this development could unlock an unlimited number of cannabis operator licenses in a state where one license has already sold for $93 million.
In a study published today by Eaze, it was revealed that — despite living in the world’s largest legal cannabis marketplace — nearly one in five (18 percent) of California cannabis consumers have bought cannabis products on the illicit marketplace in the last three months.
The study compiled 1,750 online surveys from California, Colorado, and Eaze cannabis consumers; the surveys were conducted between July 6 and July 12.
Here are some of the study’s other key findings:
84% of individuals who have purchased on the illicit marketplace are “highly likely” to repeat that behavior
23% of those consumers say that a 5% decrease in California’s tax rate could drive them into the legal market
Most consumers who buy products via the legal marketplace (84%) say they are “very satisfied”
Consumers buying on the legal market are highly satisfied with product labeling (85%) and testing (75%)
90% of California cannabis consumers say they have a medical use for the plant
Southern California consumers are more likely to buy from a unlicensed source than Northern California consumers (21% vs 16%, respectively)
It is no secret that the launch of California‘s adult-use cannabis market has been slower than predicted. Operators in the state suggest that this is due to a wide range of issues, including local licensing delays, burdensome taxes and regulations, jurisdictional bans on the industry, and a lack of lab testing standards.
Lawmakers in Indiana are considering allowing farmers to grow hemp under the state’s industrial hemp pilot program, according to an Associated Press report. Currently, only researchers at institutions of higher education can grow the crop.
Don Zolman, CEO of Zolman Farms in Kosciusko County, told members of the Interim Study Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources on Monday that the crop would be a boon to Indiana’s farmers, whose industry has become increasingly more difficult.
“I would encourage you to push the envelope here a little.” — Don Zolman, CEO of Zolman Farms, in a statement to state officials
State Senator Randy Head (R- Logansport), a member of the study committee, said that lawmakers are considering hemp regulations styled after neighboring Kentucky.
“Anyone that wants to grow, they have to have a permit issued by their state government. They have to have GPS coordinates for their growing operations so if the police want to come in and inspect, they know exactly where to go. Then, anything not being grown at those GPS coordinates is illegal.” — State Senator Randy Head, via the AP
Jeff Cummins, spokesperson for the Indiana State Department of Agriculture, said the agency does not oppose opening up the hemp program to farmers — such regulations, however, would take some time.
“We recognize industrial hemp will be part of agricultural growth. We have no opposition to a market-oriented program.” — Jeff Cummins, of the Indiana State Department of Agriculture
Lawmakers in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) — a tiny U.S. territory in the Pacific Ocean, near Guam — have voted in favor of cannabis legalization, Tom Angell reports for Forbes. The bill, if signed into law, would end cannabis prohibition for adults and establish a taxed-and-regulated system for the plant; the bill also aims to legalize and establish regimes for industrial hemp and medical cannabis.
“The people of the CNMI recognize that the prohibition of marijuana has been terribly misguided and harmful, and our leaders are in touch with the public’s sentiment on this issue. Today, members of the CNMI House of Representatives showed their commitment to honoring the will of the people.” — Lawrence Duponcheel, spokesperson for Sensible CNMI, via Forbes
The CNMI House of Representatives voted 18-1 (with one abstention) to advance the legalization bill. A similar bill was approved by the Senate in May but the House, after considering the Senate’s bill, decided to tackle the issue with their own legislation. The House’s bill now moves to the Senate for consideration.
If approved by the Senate, the bill would move to Gov. Ralph Torres (R) for his signature, but it is not clear whether he would sign his approval — he has previously alluded to concerns about “public safety issues” in regards to legalization.
If the bill is fully approved, CNMI will become the first U.S. jurisdiction to jump straight from full prohibition to a taxed-and-regulated system. Every other state/territory, including Washington D.C., has moved first on medical marijuana and only later took up the issue of adult-use cannabis.
See the Marijuana Policy Project’s bill summary for more information on the proposal.
Data released by the District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Department shows that cannabis-related arrests have continued to climb since marijuana became legal in the District in 2015, Marijuana Moment reports.
Additionally, racial disparities among cannabis arrests continue to plague the District: more than 90 percent of D.C. citizens who were arrested for cannabis in 2017 were Black.
Marijuana Moment‘s analysis shows that the rising arrest rates could be due to Congressional restrictions that block the District from establishing a taxed and regulated cannabis regime, despite support for a such a marketplace among District voters and elected officials.
Specifically, cannabis arrest rates rose 37 percent between 2016 and 2017. The climbing arrest rates are primarily fueled by distribution-related infractions.
The increase isn’t quite as shocking as that of the spike between 2015 and 2016 — where arrest rates more than tripled despite the plant’s newly legal status — but it (and the ongoing racial disparity in enforcement) is cause enough for alarm.
Washington D.C.’s legalization initiative was approved in 2014 by 65% of voters and allows citizens who are 21 or older to possess and/or gift up to an ounce of cannabis and grow up to six cannabis plants at home.
The office of Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi filed a 57-page brief on Friday arguing that an appeals court should rule in favor of the legislature’s decision to ban the smoking of marijuana products under the state’s new comprehensive medical cannabis regime, the News Service of Florida reports.
The memo argues that the Legislature “considered important health and safety factors” when it approved the ban, which medical cannabis advocates — and at least one judge, Leon County Circuit Judge Karen Gievers — have declared unconstitutional.
The memo is the state’s first step toward challenging Judge Gievers’ decision.
“Notably, the Legislature considered evidence of the health hazards of smoking and concluded that smoking marijuana constitutes a harmful delivery method. Time and again during debate, elected members of Florida’s Legislature emphasized that the amendment is exclusively about medicine and that smoking is antithetical to good medicine. In considering these health-related factors, the Legislature reasonably determined that the harms caused by smoking — including harms to patients and those exposed to secondhand smoke — were ample reason to exclude smoking from the statutory definition of ‘medical use.’ The Legislature, therefore, acted under its general authority to regulate public health, safety, and welfare when it drew a reasonable line between the smoking of medical marijuana and other delivery methods.” — Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi’s office, in the brief
In 2016, Florida voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment to establish a comprehensive medical cannabis program.
Since then, the Legislature has repeatedly taken steps — including the smoking ban and a ban on home grown cannabis — to circumvent the voter-approved constitutional amendment. Several lawsuits have ensued.
Oklahoma advocacy group Green The Vote has admitted to lying about the number of signatures they’ve collected to put a cannabis legalization question before voters. The revelation was made via Facebook video early on Tuesday, and confirmed in a follow-up video by Isaac Caviness, long-time president of Green The Vote.
The group announced last month they had exceeded the requirement with a total of 132,000 signatures (123,725 signatures are required by August 8 for the petition drive to succeed).
In his video, however, Caviness confirmed that the actual total is closer to 78,000 signatures for SQ 797 (aiming to legalize adult-use cannabis) and 72,000 for SQ 796 (which would codify a permanent medical cannabis program into the Oklahoma State Constitution).
“We did not mean this in any kind of a malicious way, and … I should not have told you all these were hard numbers, I should have told you all that these were estimates. … I never meant to mislead you in a way in which this wouldn’t get done.” — Isaac Caviness, in a Facebook video
Caviness admitted that the decision to fudge the numbers was made by himself and former Green The Vote board member Dody Sullivan; the lie was intended to keep petitioner volunteers motivated despite the lower-than-expected numbers, he said.
According to both videos, no other board members were aware of the scheme.
In the first video, Sullivan said she left the group because maintaining the lie was too much for her conscience.
The videos are embedded below in the order in which they were released:
Cannabis plants, while fresh, contain a different collection of terpenes than cannabis that has undergone a more traditional curing process.
How does it work?
By freezing the fresh cannabis plant matter, cultivators and manufacturers are able to keep their product with a higher water content than is typical ofconcentrates made from traditionally dried and cured cannabis plants.
Butane in particular is water soluble above certain temperatures so, to prevent contamination, live resin is extracted at very low temperatures.Extractions of fresh, frozen plant matter must be made between -20 and -50 degrees Fahrenheit to prevent the butane’s toxins from polluting the extract as the frozen cannabis is washed in solvent.
The final step of the process is to vacuum-dry the extract, thereby removing the remaining butane and other impurities. Manufacturers manage to maintain low temperatures during the boil-off process by keeping the extract in a vacuum chamber.
Freshly cooked cannabis concentrate, made by a licensed cannabis manufacturer in Washington, displayed on a white surface. Photo credit: Sarah Climaco
What’s the point of live resin?
Ultimately, the cold, fresh extraction process produces an extract that contains moreterpenes overall, particularly the lightweight and volatile monoterpenes like Myrcene and Terpinolene that are common in cannabis, but significantly harder to keep around throughout the high-temperature drying and curing processes that are otherwise typical to the industry.
When a cannabis plant is flash-frozen immediately after harvest, however, cultivators and manufacturers are able to preserve terpene profiles more fully. Today, cannabis patients and enthusiasts are turning more and more frequently to these terpenes as indicators of specific effects that might be common to a strain or phenotype.
Understanding cannabis terpenes
Terpenes are some of the most pervasive organic compounds in nature. Insects and plants both use them for signaling a variety of things, including to fight off predators and encourage pollination.Trees can even emit terpenes that encourage water vapor to form clouds.
Many organisms use some type of terpenoids as part of the process of synthesizing new cells and other biological compounds. Furthermore, terpenes make up the primary therapeutic content of essential oils like lavender.
Taking a close-up look at concentrated cannabis oil sourced from a licensed manufacturer in Washington state. Photo credit: Sarah Climaco
In cannabis, terpenes have been shown to dictate important differences between the effects of varying cannabis strains and indeed carry many therapeutic benefits of their own. While most consumers have realized there are major differences between the different cannabinoids such as THC, CBD, or CBG, fewer people have caught on to the fact that terpenes — or, essentially, the flavors and smells of a specific cannabis strain — can play an even more significant role in dictating a cannabis strain’s effects.
For medical cannabis patients in particular, complex terpene profiles and high terpene counts can make or break a strain in terms of its therapeutic effects.
Accordingly, the cold extraction process used to create live resins frequently results in a product that not only tastes stronger and better, but has a more complex therapeutic effect and makes for a more finely detailed and customizable experience.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated from its original version.
80-year-old grandmother Delores Saltzman was arrested and jailed in Clare County, Michigan for having less than an eighth of cannabis, according to a FOX 17 report. She was formerly registered with the state as a medical cannabis patient but had lapsed on the renewal of her MMJ card.
Saltzman — who lives with arthritis, diverticulitis, muscle and bone aches — said that cannabis saved her life, offering pain relief and an increased appetite after undergoing surgery, when prescription opioids only induced stomach pains and vomiting.
Here’s how it happened:
Clare County Sheriff’s Deputy Ashley Gruno came to Saltzman’s house on June 13 trying to locate her great granddaughter. Deputy Gruno said she smelled cannabis smoke while standing on Saltzman’s porch and asked to whom it belonged. Saltzman told the truth — that it was hers, and that she smoked the plant for medicinal purposes. Deputy Gruno came inside and ultimately confiscated seven pipes, four joints, and a small amount of cannabis; then she handcuffed Saltzman, put her in the patrol car, and jailed her overnight. Saltzman said the deputy at least helped her to clean up her kitchen, first.
Saltzman’s son, Mark Saltzman, said the deputy made a mistake that night.
“I just thought it was absolutely ridiculous to put her through this like that: they could have given her a ticket. And just show us your card later. Reapply for your LARA card, show us this, and then drop the charges.”” — Mark Saltzman, in the report
The following statement was provided to FOX 17 by Clare County Prosecutor Michelle Ambrozaitis:
“Law enforcement went to Ms. Saltzman’s home looking for an individual who had been known to stay at that residence. When the deputy arrived, she could smell the odor of marijuana. When she interacted with Ms. Saltzman at the door, Ms. Saltzman admitted to have been smoking marijuana and possessing marijuana and that she had allowed her medical marijuana card to lapse. At that time, Ms. Saltzman turned over to the deputy 7 marijuana pipes, 4 joints, a grinder, and a purple glass jar that also held a quantity of marijuana inside. The deputy arrested Ms. Saltzman for the illegal possession of marijuana and lodged her in the Clare County Jail. Based upon that arrest, a police report and request for charges was generated by the deputy and presented to our office. My assistant prosecutor authorized a possession of marijuana charge based upon the admission by Ms. Saltzman that she wasn’t a medical marijuana card holder and the evidence that she did possess marijuana illegally. However, our goal is to ensure that individuals who utilize medical marijuana are doing so legally. As such, Ms. Saltzman was encouraged to obtain her medical marijuana card and if she did so, the case would be dismissed. She did obtain her medical marijuana card and the case was dismissed.”
Meanwhile, the majority of Michigan voters approve of legalizing adult-use cannabis, and a ballot initiative to do exactly that will appear before voters on Election Day this November.
“I’m hoping that we all learn a lesson from this and that we make amends, and people will get out and vote for it. We’re the ones that have to stand up we are the people, and we just got to fight for our rights.” — Delores Saltzman, via FOX 17
