New York Wary of Expanding List of Medical Cannabis Qualifying Conditions

1/15/2016

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New York’s medical marijuana program is one of the most restrictive in the country in terms of its accepted qualifying conditions, and the state is so far showing no signs that it will expand the list beyond “severe, debilitating or life-threatening conditions.”

Health Commissioner Howard M. Zucker announced Monday that the commission would not add Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Alzheimer’s disease, muscular dystrophy, dystonia, or rheumatoid arthritis to the list of qualifying conditions because, he argues, there is not enough evidence illustrating that cannabis can be effective in treating these conditions.

The New York Health Department had a year and half to examine these conditions in order to determine whether they should be included on the list of qualifying conditions. According to reports, health department officials enlisted help from the scientific community in examining research on cannabis and the conditions in question before determining that more evidence was needed.

Assemblyman Richard Gottfried, one of the Compassionate Care Act’s sponsors, argues that medical cannabis is being unfairly singled out for scrutiny. “The law or the health commissioner don’t tell doctors what diseases are appropriate for any other drug. We really should not have an official list for medical marijuana,” he said.

Officials fear creating a system as liberal — and difficult to regulate — as California’s, but so far these fears seem to be misplaced. The New York Times reported last week that just 51 patients have registered for the program so far, in part because registration has been open for less than a month and in part because of a lack of registered physicians who are qualified to recommend cannabis.

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Hawaii Now Accepting Medical Cannabis License Applications

1/15/2016

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Those seeking to open a medical marijuana dispensary in Hawaii can now access the application online at mmjdisp.ehawaii.gov.

The state will be accepting applications through the website from Saturday, January 12th until Friday, January 29th at 4:30 p.m. H.S.T. The application fee is $5,000 per submittal.

Hawaii’s medical marijuana law allows the Department of Health to grant, initially, just eight licenses. The City and County of Honolulu will get three, Hawaii and Maui counties will get two, and Kaua’i County will receive one.

Once approved, those awarded a dispensary license will be able to run no more than two production facilities and two retail locations. The Department of Health said that it expects to announce those chosen for licensing by April 15th. Dispensaries are expected to open in mid-July.

Keith Ridley, chief of the Department of Health’s Office of Health Care Assurance, said in a press release that “applicants should be careful to follow the online application instructions completely. The online process is straightforward and follows Chapter 329D of the Hawai’i Revised Statutes and Chapter 11-850 of the Hawai’i Administrative Rules.”

More information about the medical marijuana licensing process can be found here.

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California Growers Hope to Protect Cannabis Strains Using Champagne-Like Labels

1/14/2016

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A new cannabis regulation in California takes a tip from France, where the use of appellation labels protects the integrity of products such as champagne and roquefort cheese.

Appellation ensures that, for instance, products labeled “champagne” must have been produced in the Champagne region of France. The use of such labels for cannabis should similarly ensure that a certain strain — like Mendo Purps, which originated in Mendocino, California — was grown in a certain region.

Appellation comes from the concept of “terroir” — the notion that the geographical location of a plant’s production plays an important role in the final product. “There are obvious differences between, say, a Super Silver Haze that is cultivated at 700 feet elevation and a Super Silver Haze that is cultivated at a 2,200 feet elevation in Humboldt County,” says cannabis activist and former grower Kristin Nevedal.

Some say that the use of appellation may be the best way to protect independent growers from ‘Big Marijuana.’

Dale Sky Jones, the chancellor of Oaksterdam University in Oakland, California, says that “this is how small businesses compete with big marijuana… Appellation is going to wind up being the first line of defense.”

For Hezekiah Allen, director of the California Growers Association, appellation is “a means to protect California’s unique heritage and leadership within this industry.”

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Colorado Sells Nearly $900 Million Worth of Cannabis During First Eleven Months of 2015

1/14/2016

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Colorado has reached nearly $900,000,000 worth of cannabis sales recorded in 2015, according to data recently released by the Colorado Department of Revenue. The state had suffered a significant drop in sales during October last year, but by the end of November the pace of transactions had started to pick back up.

For Ricardo Baca of The Cannabist, the next question was obvious: “Will Colorado sell $1 billion worth of cannabis in 2015?” After some calculations and special considerations — the state would need more than $100,000 worth of pot sales from December, 2015, and only the state’s most successful month ever recorded (August, 2015) has ever reached that point — Baca argues no, it’s probably not going to happen.

To know for sure, we have to wait until the numbers for December are released by the Department of Revenue sometime next month. The odds of Colorado’s cannabis market becoming a billion-dollar industry by the end 2016, however, are looking pretty excellent.

Nearly $700,000 million worth of cannabis was sold during 2014, Colorado’s first year with a fully regulated, recreational cannabis marketplace.

There are three different levels of taxation at work across Colorado’s recreational cannabis industry: the state’s standard 2.9 percent sales tax, a 10 percent sales tax specifically designed for marijuana, and a 15 percent excise tax on all wholesale cannabis transactions.

Baca reports: “For November, Colorado collected $10.7 million in recreational taxes and fees and more than $1.5 million in medical taxes and fees, bringing the 2015 cumulative revenue total to more than $121 million.”

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DNC Chair Compares Cannabis to Heroin While Pandering to Alcohol Interests

1/14/2016

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DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz is up for re-election and proudly touting her stance that marijuana is a ‘gateway drug’ — all while accepting large campaign contributions from alcohol PACs.

When asked in an interview with The New York Times why she opposes cannabis legalization, Wasserman Schultz said, “I just don’t think we should legalize more mind-altering substances if we want to make it less likely that people travel down the path toward using drugs.” Bafflingly, she follows up this statement by saying, “There is a huge heroin epidemic” — as if there’s a connection between them.

Contrary to what Wasserman Schultz believes, heroin addiction usually starts with prescription pills. The representative’s own state of Florida is, in fact, known as the epicenter of trafficking in illegal narcotics — and the DEA has flubbed its response to the crisis, making it difficult or impossible for legitimate patients to acquire pain medication.

In the interview, Wasserman Schultz goes on to call young women of today “complacent,” and confesses that her voting record on criminal justice is “perhaps not as progressive as some of my fellow progressives’” — which isn’t surprising, considering her tone-deaf stance on cannabis.

The Intercept reports that Wasserman Schultz has received $18,500 in campaign contributions from alcohol-industry PACs, including Bacardi USA, the National Beer Wholesalers Association, Southern Wine & Spirits, and the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America.

Recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that “excessive drinking was responsible for one in 10 deaths among working-age adults aged 20-64.”

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Study: Cannabis Use Doesn’t Predict Lowered IQ

1/14/2016

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Data published through the Journal of Psychopharmacology has revealed that early cannabis use is not predictive of a lower IQ or poorer academic performance in 15-16 year olds. In fact, researchers found that teenagers who smoked cigarettes were more at risk for a lowered IQ than those who smoked cannabis.

2,235 adolescents were involved in the study. The investigators reported that “those who had used cannabis [greater than or equal to] 50 times did not differ from never-users on either IQ or educational performance.” Adjustments were made to consider outstanding circumstances on a case-by-case basis:

“These findings suggest that adolescent cannabis use is not associated with IQ or educational performance once adjustment is made for potential confounds, in particular, adolescent cigarette use. Modest cannabis use in teenagers may have less cognitive impact than epidemiological surveys of older cohorts have previously suggested,” they added.

As the researchers mention, studies in the past have attempted to correlate cannabis consumption with decreased brain activity. Researchers in one of the most prominent cases have actually revised their data to indicate that socioeconomic status was actually a better explanation for the decline in a subject’s IQ.

This will come as bad news for prohibitionists, who have often attempted to rely on the argument that cannabis legalization risks damaging the academic performance of our youth.

 

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Oakland Company Becomes First Publicly-Traded Cannabis Dispensary

1/13/2016

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For the first time, investors can buy shares of a publicly traded marijuana company that handles cannabis from seed to store.

TerraTech is an agricultural firm that focuses on the marijuana industry, and has recently acquired Blüm Oakland, a medical dispensary in Oakland. Blüm Oakland boasts more than 42,000 registered patients, and serves about 1,000 of them per day.

Debra Borchardt, writing for Forbes, notes that “TerraTech paid 1.5 x the 12 month forward revenue, which is expected to be over $14 million, making the purchase price approximately $21 million. However, 80 percent of the equity will be held in escrow subject to performance adjustments at the end of that 12 months. So, the price could rise.”

Derek Peterson, CEO of TerraTech, highlighted the move:

“Today, we can proudly claim the title of the only US-based, publicly-traded company that touches every aspect of the cannabis life cycle — from cultivation, to extraction, to branding, and now, with the acquisition of Blüm, to retail sale.”

“In addition to enhancing our cash-flow, this merger positions us to capitalize on the new regulatory landscape in California, which will change significantly with the implementation of the Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act in 2016,” noted Peterson in reference to new California legislation that will further regulate the marijuana market there, and which may force many businesses to close if they cannot comply with the new laws.

Currently a penny stock, TerraTech is traded on the Over-The-Counter market. Borchardt writes: “The stock has tumbled 65 percent over the past year from a high of 28 cents to a recent 9 cents. It has a market value as of January 8, 2016 of $25 million according to the OTC profile page. 2015 was not a very good year for marijuana stocks in general.“

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Seattle Changes Zoning Laws to Allow Marijuana Businesses in More Places

1/13/2016

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The Seattle City Council voted on Monday to allow cannabis businesses to operate closer to parks and in more neighborhoods across the city, according to The Seattle Times.

Under Washington state law, marijuana businesses must be located at least 1,000 feet from sensitive public gathering spots such as parks, libraries and schools. Seattle’s new zoning laws have reduced that to 500 feet, though the larger buffer still applies to schools and playgrounds.

A 1,000 foot buffer also applies to I-502 retailers that are in close proximity to one another. According to Councilmember Tim Burgess, that limits most neighborhood business districts to having only one cannabis retailer, each. In an attempt to undermine the black market and grant tourists easier access to legal cannabis, however, the buffer between retailers was reduced to only 250 feet in Belltown and other parts of downtown Seattle.

For cannabis growers and processors — who are often considered to be less noticeable and intrusive than actual retail pot shops — the buffer between cannabis businesses has been reduced to 250 feet.

Under the new regulations, the total real estate available to cannabis businesses in Seattle has increased by 1,600 acres.

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Ex-Federal Reserve Employee Joins Privateer Holdings

1/13/2016

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Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco employee Dante Tosetti has left his post and taken a new position with Privateer Holdings Inc., a wealthy, prominent cannabis investment firm.

Though the U.S. Justice Department has outlined in detail how banks can provide services to legal marijuana businesses, financial institutions have remained hesitant. As Director of Treasury Compliance with Privateer, Tosetti’s new role is to reach out to banks and set new relationship standards with the cannabis industry, The Wall Street Journal reports.

“My goal is to change the misconception that servicing the cannabis industry is a compliance burden for banks,” Tosetti says.

Thanks to the unwillingness of banks to work with legitimate marijuana businesses, the industry is inundated with cash. According to Patrick Moen, Director of Compliance and General Counsel at Privateer, “The all-cash nature of the industry creates not only an administrative burden and an unfair stigma, but also presents a public-safety risk.”

“I’ve been in a room with a million dollars in cash, and… you can feel it’s not a safe environment,” says Brendan Kennedy, Privateer CEO.

Privateer Holdings invests exclusively in the cannabis industry. Major brands under Privateer include Marley Natural, Leafly, and Tilray. In April, Privateer closed a Series B round of investment with $75 million. Adding Tosetti to their heavyweight line-up could open the door for cannabis businesses across the country to finally get access to much-needed banking services.

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Hopeful Industrial Hemp Farmers Pushing Forward in North Dakota, Oregon

1/12/2016

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Hopeful hemp farmers in North Dakota and Oregon are stepping forward to join their states’ experimental hemp programs.

The two states are expected to issue licenses for experimental hemp plots — hemp is the non-psychoactive sister plant to cannabis, and is extremely useful in the creation of various textiles, bio-fuel, paper, and construction materials. Both states have already taken legislative action to end hemp prohibition.

North Dakota saw 17 applicants seeking to grow some of the state’s first hemp research plots. 11 applications were approved: “It was very obvious who had done their homework and had the potential to actually accomplish the research,” said Rachel Seifert-Spilde, plant protection specialist with for North Dakota’s Agriculture Department.

North Dakota originally issued the nation’s first licenses for growing commercial hemp in 2007, but federal drug laws prevented the state from moving forward with its hemp program until a provision attached to the 2014 Farm Bill opened the door to hemp crops being conducted for research purposes.

In Oregon, the state has licensed 11 different hemp farmers — though only nine licensees have planted any hemp, and only three of them have actually harvested those crops. Of those three pilot plots, two resulted in hemp crops that had THC levels above the state’s 0.3 limit, which means that, under state law, those crops need to be destroyed.

It’s expected that Oregon will begin issuing a new wave of industrial hemp licenses this February, though conflicts over cross-pollination with local medical and recreational cannabis growers may result in some interesting zoning issues for the northwestern state.

 

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Sheldon Adelson Pressures Las Vegas Paper to Go Anti-Cannabis

1/12/2016

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Sheldon Adelson — business magnate, casino owner, and recent buyer of the Las Vegas Review-Journal — is putting pressure on the newspaper’s editorial staff to change its progressive stance on cannabis policy.

Journalists who attended a meeting with publisher Jason Taylor and editor Glenn Cook reported that Adelson and his wife Miriam asked editorial board members to visit a drug treatment center so that they might re-examine the paper’s pro-legalization stance.

Nevada voters will be asked to approve or deny a measure that would legalize cannabis there in November. The Review-Journal has published editorials in favor of legalizing marijuana since 2002.

52% of people in drug treatment centers who are there mostly or entirely for cannabis were sent there by the criminal justice system, according to federal data released last month. With an epidemic of opioid overdoses in the U.S., sending so many marijuana users to take up spots in drug treatment programs seems a questionable policy.

It appears that marijuana is an issue the Adelsons are particularly concerned about. Publisher Jason Taylor said they will not be exercising this kind of influence on other issues, such as endorsements of political candidates.

Adelson was an influential donor in opposition of a 2014 Florida measure that would have legalized medical cannabis. The measure failed narrowly.

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Stop Growing Cannabis Indoors

1/12/2016

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Editor’s Note: This article was written by Jeremy Moberg, and was edited and assembled by the Ganjapreneur editorial staff. Jeremy is founder and CEO of CannaSol, an eastern Washington I-502 cannabis producer that grows marijuana solely using the power of the sun.

The cannabis industry has a problem. A really big problem: it’s terrible for the environment.

By now, the story line is well-established: Fortune Magazine wrote it most recently — “The Booming Pot Industry is Draining the U.S. Energy Supply.” And, despite a feeble attempt by New Cannabis Ventures to discredit the argument, Fortune nailed the environmental impact of indoor-grown cannabis right on its head.

The news first broke in 2011 when Scott Zerambie, owner of a local grow store, started working with the renowned climate scientist Dr. Evan Mills. Since then, the story has been circulating around the environmental consciousness of our country — but people, particularly people in the cannabis industry, are often afraid to talk about it.

Prohibition

The reason why our environment is suffering remains relatively simple: cannabis prohibition moved cannabis production indoors, where it was grown under lights and was less likely to be discovered by “The Man.”

During the 1980s, outdoor grows became increasingly more difficult as the War On Drugs funded helicopter searches that relentlessly scoured rural areas and the surrounding wilderness. Growers who pushed deeper into the hills lost control of their product and the quality went down. Indoor growers, however, were able to churn through crops and perfect their skill. With a controlled environment and the ability to grow six crops a year, the science advanced quickly and eventually indoor growers created a new standard for pot: it was called “green bud,” something far more pleasant and potent than most of the grass that came before it.

By the 1990s, it was the Golden Age of cannabis: high-grade indoor cannabis was going for $5,000 per pound on the west coast, and prices were even higher as you headed east. Growers were pushing the limits of indoor cannabis production to maximize yields. They concentrated on growing short flowering indica strains that gave a fast turn around to pay the bills quickly.

Rising energy costs

So, what’s the problem? Re-creating the sun indoors takes a whole lot of power.

Dr. Evan Mills published the first assessment of marijuana’s power usage in his 2011 study titled “Up in Smoke: The carbon foot print of cannabis.” His conclusions were astounding and widely underestimated.

According to Dr. Mills, 1% of the nation’s power was being used to grow pot — that’s a huge number. And in western states it was even higher: 9% of California’s consumer power was being used for indoor grow operations. Breaking it down to a more personal level: smoking a gram of indoor weed represents about 10 pounds of CO2 emissions, or the equivalent of leaving a 100 watt light bulb on for 75 hours.

Washington state — specifically Seattle with its notoriously cloudy weather — is arguably the birth place of indoor cannabis, so it makes sense that when legalization finally arrived many of the longtime growers there naturally decided to scale up their operations as they only knew how. But indoor cannabis on a commercial scale uses a ghastly amount of electricity and produces tainted water run off — a pair of unfortunate complications that have grown increasingly more concerning.

Growing need for sustainable cannabis

Washington has been on the forefront of sustainably grown cannabis, but it didn’t come easy. The first proposed rules would have done more than allow the polluting ways of indoor cannabis to continue: they would have actually required that all state-sanctioned cannabis be grown indoors. I was appalled, and formed the Okanogan Cannabis Association to lobby the state’s regulatory body for the right to grow under the sun. I delivered a PowerPoint presentation that changed their perceptions and, with a little help from the Seattle Times, we eventually ended up with rules that allow for sun-grown production.

Colorado went the other way — requiring commercial production to be indoors — and now is facing an energy crisis stemming from large warehouse grows that have begun to dominate Denver’s real estate scene. Colorodo’s Excel energy simply can’t keep up with the energy demands of indoor cannabis. Boulder, Colorado recognized the problem and recently required cannabis grown within the city to be offset with sustainably produced power.

The aforementioned attempt by New Cannabis Ventures to justify the cannabis industry’s exorbitant energy usage proposes that legalization will, over time, improve operational efficiency and move production out of private basements and garages, where inefficiencies are less likely to be corrected.

But — here’s the kicker — why on Earth are we installing solar panels on warehouses to produce electricity to power lights to grow cannabis at a terrible efficiency … when we can just grow it under the sun? It takes years for a solar panel to recover the energy required to produce and install it — so installing solar panels on warehouses to grow pot just makes the problem worse, not better.

There are some people who argue that LED lighting may be able to produce a better end-product, and many think that outdoor crops are inferior to the super specific genetics and hyper-engineered conditions used by indoor growers. But here’s one thing that we know: the global agriculture industry grows using sunlight for a reason, and the cost prohibitive nature of growing literally any major crop indoors would see such a proposal laughed out the door.

Nonetheless, the green rush is on. Dumb money is following dumb money as uninformed investors clamor to invest in ridiculously expensive and energy consuming warehouse industrial grow operations.

We’ve reached a point where we’re producing cannabis like a caged animal: its given only what it needs to survive, and we have reduced the plant’s nutritional needs to narrow bandwidths of artificial light and synthetic nutrients. It’s like giving an athlete growth hormones: it might make him run faster — but at what price? The resulting plant is a product of modern science and lacks a connection to the earth and the elements — today, it’s an entirely unnecessary process.

So, here’s the bottom line: we could make a world of difference in curbing the costs of climate change with the immediate cessation of indoor, commercially-grown cannabis.

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Massachusetts Senators Going to Colorado This Week to Learn About Cannabis

1/11/2016

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Members of the Massachusetts Senate Special Committee on Marijuana will travel to Colorado next week in order to learn firsthand about the state’s experience with legal recreational marijuana.

According to The Associated Press, Sen. Jason Lewis (D-Winchester) said that “we have recognized all along that the best way to really learn about the impact of legalizing marijuana is to spend time on the ground in the state that has the most experience with it, and that is Colorado.” Sen. Lewis chairs the special committee of 10 senators, 8 of whom plan to attend the Colorado visit.

The committee was formed last year in order to prepare for a possible 2016 proposition that would legalize recreational marijuana in the state. The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol has collected enough signatures to get the proposal on the ballot. The proposal would allow adults 21 and older to possess up to an ounce of cannabis, which would be subject to a 3.75 percent excises tax on top of Massachusetts’s 6.25 percent sales tax.

The senators plan to meet with Colorado state legislators, regulators and law enforcement officials. “We don’t want to repeat the mistakes and the challenges we had in implementing the medical marijuana question,” said Lewis in reference to bureaucratic delays that affected the opening of Massachusetts dispensaries.

Gov. Charlie Baker, a Republican, and Attorney General Maura Healey, a Democrat, have both come out against the proposed ballot measure; Baker said he is “unalterably opposed” to marijuana legalization.

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Children-Only CBD Law Proposed in Indiana

1/11/2016

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Indiana State Senator Jean Liesing (R-42nd District) filed a bill last week that may successfully crack open the door to cannabis law reform in The Hoosier State.

Senate Bill No. 72 would give physicians the right to conduct trials on the effectiveness of CBD medications for children. The proposal — called the ‘Cannabis for kids’ law by The Courier-Journal — would protect doctors from prosecution when prescribing controlled substances as medication for such a purpose. Before it was officially proposed, Liesing’s bill was approved 10-0 by an interim study committee, which approved the kids-only CBD legislation.

Sen. Karen Tallian (D-4th District) and Rep. Sue Errington (D-34th District) have each submitted several proposals in the past for various forms of cannabis law reform, including decriminalization and medical legalization attempts, but none have yet reached fruition.

Errington said that SB72 is “a good step.” However, “I think it’s just a first step, because there are a lot of other conditions that could be helped. I mean the pain of cancer, glaucoma, hepatitis C, Crohn’s disease, Alzheimer’s, PTSD. Veterans organizations have really come out strong for their medical marijuana bill because of the implications for treating PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder).”

Currently, it remains illegal in Indiana to possess, cultivate, and consume cannabis in any form.

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New York Medical Cannabis Program Off to a Slow Start

1/11/2016

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New York’s medical cannabis program — which launched on Thursday of last week — is off to a pathetically slow start. As of Friday, there were only 71 patients registered in state.

The program has already faced numerous criticisms for being far too restrictive, and the state government was accused multiple times of dragging its feet during the drafting and implementation process.

Part of the issue stems from there initially being only 51 doctors registered with the state who could legally make the recommendation for cannabis treatment. That number is now growing, but it’s clear how little the New York legislature was concerned with providing sufficient infrastructure for patients seeking medical cannabis treatment.

Additionally, there are fewer qualifying conditions for the program than in most other states, and cannabis can only be purchased/consumed in concentrated doses — which means no flower and no buds, only oral sprays, pills, and vaporizers.

In a numerical breakdown that draws attention to the program’s many issues, Celeste Stiles — writer for The Daily Chronic — is dead on when she notes, “…the New York legislature passed the Compassionate Care Act in 2014, [and] lawmakers praised themselves for passing one of the most restrictive, tightly regulated medical marijuana programs in the nation. But where’s the compassion?”

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Cannabis Users Not Likely to Mix Weed With Alcohol, Survey Says

1/08/2016

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New data from a study published online in the journal Addiction show that cannabis users tend not to use the drug in combination with alcohol. The results apply to both medical and recreational marijuana users.

The article presents a survey of use patterns among participants aged 18-91. Researchers with the RAND Drug Policy Research Center and the University of California, Irvine interviewed 2009 participants from Colorado, Washington, Oregon and New Mexico. Marijuana has been legalized for recreational use in the first three states and is legal for medical purposes only in New Mexico.

The article finds that “Individuals who use cannabis do not commonly use it with alcohol, irrespective of whether they are consuming cannabis recreationally or medically.”

The relationship between marijuana and alcohol remains unclear. Some studies have indicated that marijuana users may replace alcohol with marijuana, while others indicate that the two may serve as complements.

The study also found that recreational use rates are the highest in Oregon and Washington.

Cannabis has been legalized in Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Alaska and Washington D.C., and at least ten different states are expected to vote on the issue this November, including California, Massachusetts, and potentially Arizona.

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Vermont Governor Wants to Legalize Cannabis

1/08/2016

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Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin announced in his State of the State address Thursday that he will move to legalize cannabis through legislative action.

Governor Shumlin, a Democrat, said that more than 80,000 residents of Vermont had said they used marijuana in 2015. In order to combat the resultant black market, Shumlin said, legislators should work to legalize and regulate cannabis.

“That’s why I will work with you to craft the right bill that thoughtfully and carefully eliminates the era of prohibition that is currently failing us so miserably,” said Shumlin.

Vermont is one of 20 states that have decriminalized marijuana possession.

If the Governor succeeds, it will mark the first time legalization has been achieved the legislative process rather than the ballot box.

Shumlin described his vision of Vermont’s legal market as one in which marijuana would be available to adults and would be taxed at a rate low enough to get rid of the black market. Shumlin also said that the sale of edibles should be banned.

Revenue from marijuana taxes would be used for addiction prevention and treatment as well as helping law enforcement handle impaired drivers.

The Drug Policy Alliance applauded Gov. Shumlin’s announcement. “I’m hopeful this is the start of a new trend,” said Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the DPA.

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Canada Legalization Will Violate International Treaties, Trudeau Warns

1/08/2016

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Before Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau can follow through on his promise to end cannabis prohibition in Canada, the nation first needs to figure out how it can do so without violating several global treaties regarding the production and possession of marijuana.

There are three international conventions that Canada’s Liberal Party will need to work around, CBC reports:

  • The Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961, as amended by the 1972 Protocol
  • The Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 1971
  • The United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances of 1988

Errol Mendes of the University of Ottawa believes it’s going to be a difficult process, and it could become even more challenging based on the results of this November’s U.S. presidential election: if the Republicans win the White House, it’s very likely that U.S. opposition would provide a sea of complications.

A memo released by the Liberal Party explained: “As part of examining legalization of cannabis possession and production, Canada will need to explore how to inform the international community and will have to take the steps needed to adjust its obligations under these conventions.”

Mendes, an expert on constitutional and international law, said, “It will be an ongoing dialogue which has to be dealt with at the highest levels, and it’s not going to be an easy one, and it’s not going to be a quick one either. It’s going to take many years.”

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overdose on marijuana

Can You Overdose On Marijuana?

1/08/2016

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One of the most interesting aspects of cannabis is how benign it is to most humans.

The lethal limit of ingestion is so high that it is widely considered an impossible feat to die from marijuana use. In fact, cannabis is less lethal than many commonly ingested chemicals like ibuprofen, caffeine, alcohol, and most pharmaceuticals.

But does that mean you can’t overdose on marijuana? Not quite.

Just because death isn’t in the equation doesn’t mean it’s not possible to smoke or consume too much cannabis, however. Marijuana over-consumption can manifest itself in a variety of ways, including paranoia, anxiety, and hallucinations. While the chances of experiencing these negative effects are small, there are a number of ways to prepare for and deal with them.

First, and most importantly, is to speak with an expert about dosing yourself. An expert should know what to expect from each strain, as well as your method of ingestion (smoking, vaping, eating, dabbing).

Explain your intentions and ask for their advice. Start slow and work your way up to higher doses. Because of their slow onset, it is especially tricky to dose yourself with edibles. Give yourself several hours between doses. Most marijuana “overdoses” are from people with little-to-no experience, and can be easily avoided with proper guidance.

overdose on marijuana

Know your limits, and stay comfortable.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. When preparing for a cannabis session it is helpful to set up a happy place ahead of time. The old 60’s adage of “set and setting” still holds true. When consuming cannabis, be in a comfortable place where you won’t need to drive anywhere. Wear comfortable clothes and be around your favorite music, food, movies, and/or people. Have plenty of refreshments around to aid with cottonmouth. Avoid alcohol. Have some easy to prepare, or previously prepared, snacks available for when the munchies set in.

Keep calm and blaze on.

Lastly — in the event of a bad experience — remember that the strange feelings you are experiencing WILL fade. After a few hours you will feel significantly less high, and after about a day you will completely return to your standard of conscious experience. Fear and anxiety tend to set in because of panic, and often this panic is caused because one feels like this new feeling will last forever. If dealing with these anxious feelings, sit or lie down and breathe deeply. Change the music or movie. Turn the lights on or off. Change rooms. Remove yourself from the negativity, and find a new place to be. You can’t change your current state without waiting for a few hours, but you can change your location and stimulus.

If you get too high, don’t panic: the effects are temporary.

After a few sessions and some experience with dosing, the sensations becomes a little more normalized. The chances of a negative experience lessen, and confidence takes over. However, even with experience, it is possible to suffer the negative symptoms described above, but the advice doesn’t change. Just sit back, relax, and know that the ride will be over soon.

Last Updated May 25, 2020

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BioTrackTHC Wins Hawaii Cannabis Software Contract

1/08/2016

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The software company BioTrackTHC, whose software provides seed-to-sale tracking for the cannabis industry throughout the United States and beyond, has won yet another contract: the firm will provide software for Hawaii’s medical marijuana program for $159,000.

BioTrack, which is based out of Florida, also provides software for marijuana programs in Washington State, New Mexico, Illinois and New York, and has stated that its software is used in some way by more than 1,500 businesses across the country, as well as abroad in Canada, Jamaica and South America.

BioTrack’s software lets users (in this case, the Hawaiian Department of Health) track plant inventories, lab test results, and production, transportation and distribution activities.

BioTrack CEO Patrick Vo said in a statement that “the development of a healthy and successful medical cannabis program is a top priority for Hawaii, and we are extremely proud to have been chosen to be a critical part of it.”

“The islands of Hawaii are truly unique and we very much look forward to applying our expertise in solving the cannabis traceability challenges unique to Hawaii.”

Hawaii begins its licensing process for medical marijuana firms this month; applications go online January 11th. Submissions will be accepted from the 12th to the 29th, and the state’s first medical dispensaries should open this summer.

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A First Look at Etain: Albany’s New Medical Cannabis Dispensary

1/07/2016

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A non-descript building in Albany, New York’s warehouse district houses the state capital’s first, and currently only, medical cannabis dispensary. During the tour of the Etain-run facility, Chief Operating Officer Hillary Peckham said she and her crew had “worked through the night” preparing this, and their Kingston location, to be patient-ready.

“This is something that we put our sweat and tears in,” Peckham said. “It’s dinner, it’s breakfast, it’s staying up all night. This is something that we are really proud to be able to share with everyone here.”

Inside-view of the Etain medical cannabis dispensary in Albany, New York.
Inside-view of the Etain medical cannabis dispensary in Albany, New York.

In accordance with the state law, the outside of the building is plain – it’s simple, painted a hushed grey with red trim. The lobby’s color scheme is the same, featuring a small waiting area with a faded leather sofa, two black leather chairs and a leather faux shipping crate coffee table.

The exterior of the former Regalo Gift Experience location will bear a simple black and white sign reading “Etain” — the only marketing attempt allowed at state-registered medical marijuana operations, as per state law.

The Etain product line — entirely cannabis concentrate products.
The Etain product line — entirely cannabis concentrate products.

Etain will offer three oil-only brands: Forte (a high-THC blend), Balance (equal parts THC and CBD) and Dolce (a high-CBD option). The brands will be available to patients in capsule, tincture, oral spray and a solution for use with vapor pens, similar to e-cigarettes. Each one is designed to offer patients “consistent” and “reliable” doses in their products, Peckham said.

Before patients can enter the location they must first be registered with the state. New York guidelines cover about a dozen critical and terminal illnesses, and individuals must be certified by one of about 150 doctors in the state licensed to prescribe marijuana. Doctors must complete a four hour course before they can recommend cannabis to their patients.

After showing their credentials, patients will be escorted to the dispensing area — which keeps the same grey, red and leather decorative scheme — where they will be greeted by Etain pharmacist Kevin King.

Etain pharmacist Kevin King.
Etain pharmacist Kevin King.

King, 28, graduated from Albany College of Pharmacy and began his career at a compounding pharmacy in the city, which he described as similarly “unique” to his new role in the nascent market.

“Having this opportunity open up as a new program, doing the same [types of] thing, offering a previously illegal option to patients and helping a huge number of people in the state – I couldn’t be happier,” he said. King admits he supported medical marijuana use before he took the job with Etain.

Patients will also have the option to speak with a patient relations specialist. Martha McDermott, whose background is in social work, describes her job as a patient and community educator.

“A lot of it is helping people understand the conditions that qualify for the program,” she said. “People think you can just walk in — there is a certification process that is far more complicated in New York than Colorado, California and Vermont.”

McDermott explains that she hasn’t had questions from any of the new neighbors – the dispensary is located directly next to a heating and air conditioning company and just up the street from a local hard cider brewery, a Crossfit gym and three popular bars.

“A lot of the counseling will come from the pharmacist because that is the regulatory requirement, but I think at Etain we would like to see education advocacy be one of the things that we do here,” she said. “Marijuana is, obviously, a new industry in the state… it’s rapidly growing.”

Peckham said that she expects Etain’s other sites to open “throughout the month,” but was unable to provide a hard timeline. The Department of Health announced yesterday that they were allowing registered operators the option to provide delivery services to patients who are unable to travel due to their health who also do not have a licensed caregiver as a proxy. Peckham said they do not yet have a system in place but it is “something they definitely intend to do,” and are working with homes for aging populations in an effort to provide those services.

Although enrollment numbers are low – the Health Department reported just 50 patients have signed up for the program so far – Peckham anticipates an “accelerated patient count” due to the state’s large population.

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Mayor of Mexico City Supports Cannabis Legalization

1/07/2016

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The Mayor of Mexico City has come out in support of marijuana legalization, stating that the issue is one both of personal freedom and of fighting drug cartels.

“My position is always the defense of freedoms,” stated Mayor Miguel Angel Mancera in an interview with El Universal. “I do support legalization.”

Legalization would “be a blow” to the drug cartels that have perpetuated violence for years throughout Mexico and along its northern border, argues the Mayor, who stated that legal cannabis “would not be attractive for purposes of drug trafficking.”

Mayor Mancera has indicated in the past that he may be considering a bid for the presidency in 2018, and stated that if elected he would work to reform current marijuana laws. Currently, President Enrique Peña Nieto is against legalizing cannabis, although he has said that he is in favor of a national dialogue.

Mancera’s statements on cannabis follow on the heels of an announcement by the country’s Congress that it will hold a series of debates regarding marijuana legalization. The debate will involve sociologists, medical practitioners, academics and the public, and President Nieto has stated that the result of the debates could change his outlook on legalization.

Mexico’s Supreme Court ruled in November that the personal production and consumption of cannabis should be legal, although the ruling did not change the law.

Mancera also introduced a bill to Congress in December that would legalize the importation of medicines made from cannabis.

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Gary Johnson, Ex-Governor and Cannabis CEO, Enters 2016 Presidential Race

1/07/2016

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On Wednesday, former Governor of New Mexico Gary Johnson announced he’s running for president in 2016, seeking the Libertarian nomination.

In his appearance on Fox Business, Johnson described his platform as “fiscally conservative and socially liberal.” The announcement comes on the heels of Johnson stepping down as CEO of Cannabis Sativa Inc. on New Year’s Eve, so he can focus on his campaign. In the resignation announcement, former Governor Johnson said, “I’m confident that legal cannabis is a societal good.”

Johnson ran in 2012 as a Republican, but dropped out of the race and became the Libertarian nominee instead. This year, his campaign is focusing on smaller government and more socially liberal policy, including the rescheduling and full legalization of marijuana at the federal level. Johnson says, “Personal responsibility, personal freedom — that’s what this country is founded on.”

Johnson founded Our America Initiative, an organization dedicated to restoring “liberty, personal responsibility and economic freedom as the true American values,” as well as fostering “an environment  that allows each person to pursue his or her individual dreams and happiness without the burdens of unneeded government restrictions.”

“I think the biggest problem facing this country is the $20 trillion debt that we will have when Obama leaves office,” he said. “Government is too big, it’s unwieldy, it’s out of control, [and] we need to get control.” Johnson blames minimum sentencing and the War on Drugs for our rampant incarceration problem — and the high cost of funding it.

But Johnson isn’t pushing for legalization because he thinks it will result in more votes. “It is a big zero when it comes to the ballot box. Is it the right thing to be advocating? Absolutely,” says Johnson. “But does it result in political benefits? I haven’t seen it.”

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2016 Resolutions: How Cannabis Can Help You Diet

1/07/2016

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Considering a diet plan in 2016? Your cannabis hobby may be able to help with that.

Recent research suggests that cannabis might actually help people lose weight — and keep it off — despite the notorious “munchie” effect that has users consuming as many as 600 more calories per day than non-users.

Marijuana and Metabolism

A 2013 study published in the American Journal of Medicine found that marijuana users had an average 16 percent lower fasting insulin level and 17 percent lower insulin resistance compared to non-users.

To clarify, insulin is produced by the pancreas to convert glucose into energy. An excess amount of insulin can result in fatigue whereas too little insulin can cause plaque build-up in the arteries. By regulating the production of insulin, cannabis can improve metabolism, increase levels of “good cholesterol” and reduce the risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes characterized by insulin resistance.

A 15-year study published by BMJ Open surveyed 10,896 adults and found that heavy marijuana users had a lower prevalence of diabetes mellitus than non-users and lower levels of C-reactive protein in the blood. Past and light users showed the same metabolic trends though to a lesser extent than heavy users which suggests a direct correlation between marijuana use and a low prevalence of diabetes.

The Secret to a Successful Diet with Cannabis

“Eat less, exercise more” may seem counter-intuitive to the cannabis user’s diet but it most certainly is not. In fact, many professional athletes hail cannabis as an effective personal trainer because of its effectiveness at reducing muscle fatigue and improving stamina. Used topically, it can also help relieve muscle pain and aid in a speedy recovery.

Some marijuana strains can also help curb cravings, specifically strains high in the cannabinoid tetrahydrocannabivarin or THCv. As the name suggests, THCv is very similar to THC — both are psychoactive, both cause feelings of euphoria and both increase energy — but THCv offers a unique set of benefits as well, such as bone stimulation, anxiety relief and appetite suppression.

It is thought that THCv suppresses appetite by blocking other cannabinoids (like THC) from interacting with CB receptors. It also helps prevent the “feel good” sensations caused by eating comfort foods and reduces cholesterol in the blood. Other benefits of THCv include seizure mitigation, diabetes prevention and memory improvement.

Managing weight gain is easy with the right strains of cannabis. High-THCv strains like Blue Dream and Durban Poison act quickly to produce a clear-headed, high-energy buzz that will knock out the munchies while helping users knock out a few more reps at the gym. Now that’s motivation to diet.

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