EP77(02.04.2019) BREMER - Rapper. Stoner. Entertainer.

On Episode 77, Rapper, @therealbremer drops a LIVE performance!
Bremer is a RAPPER, STONER and ENTERTAINER from Southern Oregon.

​Instagram: @therealbremer
Music: SoundCloud.com/bremer_ygb


//CANNABIS NEWS// (Jan. 28th-Feb. 4th 2019)

//HEADLINES//

• In a long-awaited review, the World Health Organization is recommending that marijuana and its components be rescheduled under global treaties. The body also wants to clarify that CBD is not controlled at all by international law.
  
• U.S. attorney general nominee William Barr put his pledge not to go after marijuana companies that relied on the Obama-era Cole Memo in writing. In a lengthy document responding to senators' written questions, he also called for approval of more cannabis growers for research and confirmed that hemp-derived CBD is legally distinct from marijuana.
• Because of the government shutdown and related furloughs, cannabis companies that need to pay their taxes in cash weren't able to do so. 
• U.S. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) said that his panel may be taking up marijuana reform legislation “fairly soon.” “I will say I had hoped that at one of our initial meetings we would have been giving powers back to the states in the form of removing cannabis from the list of Schedule I drugs rather than taking powers from the states,” he said, referring to the Democrats’ bill, which would dictate certain electoral policies. “I’ll also note that with some of the new additions on the Republican side, I think the committee would be very favorable” to marijuana reform.
  
• A study concluded that, contrary to conventional wisdom, CBD can actually enhance—rather than counteract—the high caused by THC, depending on the concentration of the cannabinoids. They discovered a somewhat counterintuitive effect of CBD. When participants inhaled the low-CBD and THC variant, their subjective assessment of their intoxication was higher than when they vaporized THC alone, indicating that in low doses CBD might actually enhance the psychoactive effects of THC. Objective analysis of things like THC concentration in blood plasma also substantiated that finding. This effect was “most prominent in the infrequent users.” However, the study affirmed that CBD can, as previous studies have indicated, mitigate the intoxicating effects of THC—but that effect seems to only occur when the CBD concentration is high.
• A survey of Iraq and Afghanistan military veterans found that 83% support medical cannabis, 55% back full marijuana legalization, 89% are interested in using cannabinoid medicines and 90% want medical marijuana research, among other results.
  
• The  ASPCA Poison Control Center says it has seen a 756 percent increase in calls about accidental marijuana ingestion by pets over the last decade.
  
• The University of California, Berkeley launched a new Cannabis Research Center. Researchers all across the university are performing or proposing cannabis-related studies. The Cannabis Center hopes to catalyze those elements to boost grant funding and publish major findings in leading journals—the dual fuels of academic success. “This really opens things up. We really should be so much further ahead in our ability to gather data, analyze it, and get it out there,” said Dominic Corva, Ph.D, founder, executive director, Center for the Study of Cannabis and Social Policy. Cal’s number one rank among among public universities bestows unprecedented credibility on the burgeoning field of cannabis studies.
• A new study found that states that quickly allowed beer sales in 1933 before others did benefited over a period of decades. The researchers suggested that the findings have implications for marijuana legalization: “In the long run, states that legalize in the earliest stages of this staggered removal of the drug’s prohibition may enjoy an early-adopter advantage with respect to the production and sale of marijuana as they gain a foothold in what may soon become a national (or international) market for the product."

//Politics//

• These 10 States Are Most Likely To Pass Marijuana Legalization Bills In 2019. Marijuana Moment - The number of states with legal marijuana is expected to jump significantly in 2019, and a slew of already-filed bills offers a look at what those new legal cannabis systems might look like. While marijuana legalization legislation has already been introduced in at least 17 states—including several traditionally conservative ones—there are 10 that seem to hold the most promise of passage at this point. Here’s a look at the states that are most likely to send legal cannabis bills to their governors’ desks this year, in alphabetical order: Connecticut, Hawaii,  Illinois, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont. Read Full Story
• Former White House Director of Message Strategy Cliff Sims writes in his new book that President Trump wanted to make an anti-drug ad showing "people dying in a ditch" and "bodies stacked on top of bodies" to "scare kids so much that they will never touch a single drug in their entire life."
• White House Office of National Drug Control Policy Associate Director Charmaine Yoest is leaving her position.
• Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), during a speech announcing her presidential candidacy, said, "Once and for all, we have got to call drug addiction what it is: a national, public health emergency. And what we don't need is another war on drugs."
• Former U.S. Treasury Deputy Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy Aaron Klein is urging the federal government to loosen restrictions on banking services for marijuana businesses.
  
• Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts (R) indicated he would not give his own kids medical cannabis if it could help them.
  

​//Medical, Health & Research//​

• A study found that "cannabis appears cost-effective when augmenting second-line treatment for painful neuropathy." "Further research," they say, "is warranted to explore the long-term benefit of smoked cannabis and standardization of its dosing for chronic neuropathic pain."
• A review concluded that "topical cannabis has potential as a therapeutic option for local inflammation in peripheral tissue."
• A National Institute on Drug Abuse overview says that the CB2 receptor "is emerging as a potential therapeutic target for treating inflammatory and neuropathic pain." CB2 is mainly expressed in the immune system (to a lesser extent in the central nervous system) and does not create a psychotropic reaction. As a result, CB2 is emerging as a potential therapeutic target for treating inflammatory and neuropathic pain. However, it shares many of the same genetic traits as CB1, so it has been challenging for scientists to delineate how each one works individually to create their effects, making it difficult to create medicines that can activate CB2 effectively.
• Science Magazine takes a look at concerns about air pollution related to marijuana cultivation. Researchers have long known that volatile organic compounds (VOCs)  emitted by plants can contribute to smog. VOCs can mix with nitrogen oxides—produced by cars and industrial sources—in sunlight-driven reactions that produce ground-level ozone, a pollutant. William Vizuete's recent study confirmed that pot plants are a rich source of potent VOCs called terpenes, which give cannabis its dank smell. And it suggested the tens of thousands of plants in Denver's indoor farms—which are mostly found along two busy highways—could, under a worst-case scenario, double the city's volume of smog-forming VOCs. If the farms "are putting out a significant amount of terpenes, there is not a worse place to put them," Vizuete says.
• Young people in liberal states are more likely to be cannabis consumers, but they also are less likely to be dependent on it than those residing in conservative states, according to new findings. The Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health report published in the International Journal of Drug Policy found that the conservative or liberal nature of a state had an impact on the rate of dependency on cannabis in young people. Read More...
  
• A study of medical cannabis patients found that 45.2% "successfully discontinued their pre-existing benzodiazepine therapy."
  
• An analysis of votes on Oklahoma's medical cannabis ballot measure found that it is "political party (Republican) and place (rural areas) that best predicts opposition" to the measure and that "religious affiliation plays a role."
  
• A review concluded that recent studies "have provided efficacy and safety data for the use of CBD in pediatric onset severe epilepsies."
  
• A study concluded that cannabisin F, a compound in hemp seed, reduces "inflammatory response and oxidative stress" in cells.
  
• The Colorado Retail Marijuana Public Health Advisory Committee released a report on the effects of marijuana in pregnancy, during adolescence and on children.Detailed findings are available at colorado.gov/marijuanahealthinfo, where data will be updated as it becomes available. A report summary is available on the website home page.
  
• A study concluded that "given its favorable effects on alcohol‐related harms and addiction phenotypes in preclinical models, CBD appears to have promise as a candidate [for alcohol use disorder] pharmacotherapy."
  
• A comprehensive study looks back at humanity’s relationship with marijuana over 10,000 years of history and shows that Egyptian pharaohs, Chinese emperors and Greek physicians all utilized cannabis. The study covers a lot of ground and is worth a read, but here are some of the stand-out facts that the team of Italian researchers identified in their paper: —Cannabis seeds macrofossils were found attached to pieces of broken ceramic in central Japan dating back about 10,000 years. —Shen Nung, a Chinese emperor around 2,700 BCE who is also considered the father of Chinese medicine, reportedly regarded marijuana as a “first-class herb” that was not dangerous. —According to Verdic texts from around 800 BCE, cannabis was used in religious rituals but also for its “analgesic, anesthetic, antiparasitic, antispastic, and diuretic properties” and “as an expectorating agent, as an aphrodisiac, to treat convulsions, to stimulate hunger, and to relieve from fatigue.” —Marijuana was considered a “holy plant” in Tibet and was used in Tantric Buddhism to “facilitate meditations.” —Archeologists have discovered remnants of cannabis in the graves of Scythians, an ancient group of nomadic warriors, in Germany, Siberia and Ukraine, dating back to about 450 BCE. —Marijuana pollen was also found in the tomb of Ramsés II, one of the most storied pharaohs of Egypt. —Hemp seed oil was used in Arabic medicine to treat ear infections, skin diseases, flatulence, intestinal worms, neurological pain, fever and vomiting. —Galen, one of the most famous Greek physicians in the Roman empire, warned about “an excess consumption of cakes containing hemp seeds,” which were apparently popular during banquets. People ate the cakes for “their property to induce relaxation, hilarity and euphoria, but with the collateral effect to induce thirst, sluggishness and a difficulty to digest.” —Pope Innocent VIII issued a papal bull in 1484 that condemned cannabis, calling it an “unholy sacrament of the satanic mass.” —In eastern Europe, cannabis was a common ingredient in popular medicine. For example, people would mix hemp flowers and olive oil and put it on wounds. The mixture was also “combined with hemp seeds oil for rheumatisms and jaundice.” --“Plurimillennial history of Cannabis medical use teaches us all we should know about its pharmacological potential and the pathologies that would mainly advantage from its application,” the researchers wrote. “All we must do now is [invest] our efforts into informative research, collecting more statistically significant data and conclusive scientific evidence about both its medical benefits and negative effects.”

//Industry, Business & Financial//​​​

• Former Trump campaign official George Papadopoulos, who pled guilty to making false statements to the FBI, joined the advisory board of C3 International, a cannabis company. 
• Cura Partners hired the former global head of marketing for Beats Electronics.
  
• Former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer joined the board of directors of Seedo Corp., which makes marijuana cultivation equipment.
  
• Canadian marijuana activist and businessman Marc Emery is being disinvited from cannabis events in the wake of media reports about alleged sexual misconduct towards employees.
  
• Turkish firm TechnoArge developed an x-ray scanner for airports made with a cannabis-based composite that the company says prevents radiation from spreading to the environment.
  
• Tilray insiders are offloading some of their stock holdings. Two of Tilray’s top executives recorded stock sales last week, the first insider sales at the marijuana producer since it went public in July.
  
• Hexo Corp. said it raised $43.3 million in a stock sale. Hexo, which recently began trading on the NYSE American exchange, inked a deal with Molson Coors Brewing Co.TAP, -0.92% last year to form a joint venture to develop non-alcoholic pot-infused drinks in Canada. 
  
• C21 Investments Completes Acquisition of Pure Green Dispensary. The acquisition expands the company's retail network in Oregon. C21 has definitive agreements to acquire cannabis companies in Oregon and Nevada, that when closed will make C21 one of the largest public cannabis companies in the world.
  
• Khiron Life Sciences Signs Binding Letter of Intent to Acquire NettaGrowth in Uruguay. Nettagrowth subsidiary Dormul has obtained the first licence to produce medical cannabis with THC for commercialization in Uruguay.
  
• Blue Diamond Ventures Inc. Acquires Harvest 360 Technologies. Combined operations include multiple projects in New Jersey, Missouri, Virginia, Colorado and Michigan. Included in the TechnologyH360 brings into Blue Diamond will be the Athena Protocol, a protocol for battlefield treatment using CBD medicine with a unique delivery system, and the patent pending DOTs in a BOX from Chemistry Mapping, a 3D Spatial Modeling Technology that may be a game changer when it comes to cannabinoid drug development.
  
• National Cannabis Industry Association cofounder Steve Fox left his position as an advisor with the organization and is instead signing on with rival group the Cannabis Trade Federation.
  

//Legal//​

• The State Department tweeted, "Marijuana may be decriminalized or legalized in your state, but that doesn’t mean you can take it on your upcoming cruise. Obey local laws when in foreign countries and check the prohibited items list for your cruise line."
  
• The Missouri House Special Committee on Criminal Justice will hold a hearing on a bill to expunge certain marijuana offenses on Thursday.
• In Colorado, a court will hear a public marijuana consumption case against a founder of the International Church of Cannabis on Tuesday. Nearly two years after Denver police busted the founders of the International Church of Cannabis for public pot consumption, one of the leaders finally may have his day in court. Steve Berke, who co-founded the church in April 2017, is set to appear Tuesday in a Denver courtroom, where he is fighting a misdemeanor charge of open and public consumption of marijuana. The maximum penalty in the municipal case is $300. But marijuana experts are watching to see how Berke’s case might address a tricky question that has been confusing Denver pot smokers since legalization five years ago: What is considered “open and public” marijuana consumption?
• The former owners of the Colorado marijuana dispensary chain Sweet Leaf pleaded guilty to drug and racketeering charges and will spend a year in prison in what city officials called the first local prosecution of a legal pot enterprise in the U.S. A yearlong investigation of Sweet Leaf’s sales practices centered on a practice known as “looping,” where a customer purchases the maximum amount of marijuana that Colorado law permits and repeatedly returns to the same retailer to purchase more on the same day. Prosecutors believe people using the strategy at Sweet Leaf locations purchased more than 2 tons of marijuana intended for sale on the black market.
• Baltimore, Maryland's top prosecutor announced that her office will stop pursuing marijuana possession cases—effective immediately—and that it will also seek to vacate past cannabis convictions.
  
• Dispute Over Medical Marijuana Limits Reaches Michigan Supreme Court. The Michigan Supreme Court will hear arguments in a dispute over whether a Kent County township can restrict where medical marijuana is grown.
  
• Drug Enforcement Administration agents and local police raided dozens of suspected illegal Denver-area marijuana grow houses.
  
• A federal court jury convicted a Denver attorney of of securities fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud, money laundering and conspiracy related to a marijuana business.
  

//Hemp//

• A New report shows that hemp cultivation in the U.S. significantly increased last year, from 26,000 acres in 2017 to 78,000 acres in 2018. And that’s before the crop was formally legalized via the Farm Bill. 
• The Indiana Senate Commerce and Technology Committee approved a bill to establish an industrial hemp advisory committee.
• The Illinois Farm Bureau is suggesting that state regulators make clarifications and changes to proposed hemp rules. One of IFB’s main questions centers around the licensing of farm family members and farm employees and at what cost. Without a license from IDOA, it is illegal to grow industrial hemp in Illinois. Under the proposed rules, not only would a farmer need to be licensed but so would any family member or employee who might plant, grow or harvest industrial hemp. 
• GenCanna Global Inc. announced that it developed a 0% THC hemp crop. “This is a remarkable development for the hemp industry and for Kentucky,” said Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles.
• WWE wrestler Daniel Bryan unveiled a new championship belt partially made of hemp.
  
• College Awarded Permit to Grow and Study Industrial Hemp. Albright College recently received the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture permit to research and grow industrial hemp in the state of Pennsylvania during 2019.
  

​ //Culture//

• Rapper Action Bronson is releasing a marijuana-focused book. The rapper's Stoned Beyond Belief book arrives on March 19 via Abrams Image Publishing. Bronson worked with Rachel Wharton to compile several resources for marijuana enthusiasts, including 35 recipes with illustrations and photos.
• Jimmy Kimmel Live produced a spoof medical-cannabis-for-dogs ad to air during the Puppy Bowl in light of CBS rejecting a Super Bowl spot on marijuana. 
• NFL player De’Anthony Thomas was arrested for possessing marijuana and drug paraphernalia. The Chiefs wide receiver was arrested in Allen County, Kansas, on Saturday on suspicion of possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.
• Romantic Endeavors. Here are just a few ways that couples can use cannabis to enhance their Valentine’s Day celebrations. Cannabis can help date nights become memorable and intimate
  

​//International//

• Thailand officials suspended the licensing of medical cannabis products over fears that foreign pharmaceutical companies will try to monopolize the market. Read More...
  
• Russia's Health Ministry is proposing allowing the importation of marijuana for research purposes.
  
• German regulators launched a process to award medical cannabis cultivation contracts.
• THE UK'S FIRST LEGAL CANNABIS FARM LOCATION WILL BE KEPT SECRET. London, England-based Sativa Investments is opening the country’s first legal cannabis farm, but due to security issues, the farm’s location won’t be disclosed to the public. Read More... 
  
• The Greek government announced the availability of additional medical cannabis cultivation licenses.
• Ukraine's acting health minister called for the legalization of medical cannabis.
  
• A Kenyan governor denied another governor's claim that the two used to smoke marijuana together in a Parliament bathroom when they were lawmakers.
  

//Mexico//

• Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador declared the country's war on drugs "over." This government has not arrested organized crime capos because "the war is over," said President Andrés Manuel López Obrador at a press conference.  López Obrador said that he will continue to focus on addressing the causes of violence since this strategy is already yielding results, at least in the reduction of daily homicides. "Capos have not been arrested because that is not our strategy. It is no longer the intention to arm operatives against capos, what we want is to reduce insecurity by attending to the causes, "he told a press conference.  

​//Canada//​

• The Canadian government's marijuana point man says edibles might not hit the shelves right when their sales become allowed, because provinces need time to prepare. Trudeau’s government has said edibles and other products currently banned will be “permitted for legal sale” no later than Oct. 17, a year after Canada began legal sales of dried cannabis for recreational use.
  

//US Territories//

• Guam lawmakers introduced legislation to legalize marijuana. Sen. Clynton Ridgell, D-Talofofo, introduced Bill 32, which seeks to legalize the use, production, sale and taxation of marijuana for people who are at least 21 years old.
  

//East Coast//

• The Maine state Supreme Court upheld the eviction from public housing of a man who grew medical cannabis.
  
• The chairman of the Vermont Senate Judiciary Committee is pushing back against the idea that a bill to legalize marijuana sales needs to include provisions on impaired driving.
• A Connecticut senator filed a bill to create a cannabis equity policy.
• New Jersey Will Allow Residents to Use Medical Marijuana to Treat Opioid Addiction. New Jersey residents that are actually in treatment for opioid addiction will now be allowed to use medical marijuana. A move announced by Gov. Phil Murphy last Wednesday as one of several steps he outlined to combat the enduring opioid epidemic.
• New Jersey lawmakers are considering taxing recreational marijuana by weight, rather than by price, a change that could help boost stalled negotiations on legalization legislation with Gov. Phil Murphy (D).
• Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor Announces Statewide Recreational Marijuana Legalization Listening Tour. Lt. Gov. John Fetterman will launch a statewide listening tour to hear from Pennsylvanians about the possibility of legalizing recreational marijuana. 

//The South//

• A Tennessee senator filed a marijuana decriminalization bill, and other lawmakers introduced additional cannabis reform proposals.
  
• The Missouri Veterans Commission is refusing to allow medical cannabis in the state's nursing homes for military veterans.
• The sponsor of Texas's marijuana decriminalization Rep. Joe Moody bill is optimistic it can get out of committee and onto the House floor this year.
• A senator filed a separate cannabis decriminalization proposal. Nathan Johnson, a Dallas Democrat, filed Senate Bill 460 which would decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana. He said in a statement the bill would "prevent hundreds of thousands of Texans from receiving life-long criminall records for minor offenses." 

//The Midwest//

• Michigan Cannabis Advocates Sue to Remove Marijuana From Controlled Substances List. Advocates say the move would bring an end to police raids.
• An Illinois representative introduced a marijuana legalization bill that mandates that at least half of cannabis cultivation and retail facilities be located in "communities disproportionately harmed by the war on drugs."
• An Illinois law allowing patients to substitute medical cannabis for opioids takes effect on Thursday.
  
• Minnesota measure would legalize marijuana by 2022. Senate GOP leader dismissed bill, saying legalization is not a priority. Minnesotans over 21 would could buy and use marijuana legally by 2022 as part of a proposal that would give the state significant power and oversight of a recreational cannabis program. The state would regulate all aspects of the local marijuana industry, enforcing health and safety regulations and controlling everything from testing to labeling requirements. Read More​
• Iowa lawmakers are considering several pieces of cannabis reform legislation. Most seek to improve the medical cannabis program, while a few others target the nonsensically harsh criminal penalties in the Iowa Code.
  
• The Nebraska Legislature's Judiciary Committee held a lengthy hearing on a bill to legalize medical cannabis and took testimony from people who have seen the therapeutic benefits of marijuana.

//The West & West Coast//​

• The New Mexico Senate Public Affairs Committee unanimously approved a bill to allow medical cannabis in schools.
  
• Alaska Governor Appoints New Marijuana Control Board Members With Anti-Cannabis Records. Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s appointment of Vivian Stiver and Christopher Jaime could crush on-site consumption efforts in the state.
• Washington State regulators temporarily suspended the requirement that marijuana products be testing for heavy metal because there are currently no labs certified to do so.
• California lawmakers, with the state treasurer's support, filed legislation to temporarily reduce certain marijuana taxes and suspend others.
• Separately, regulators will consider marijuana cultivation water use issues on February 5.
• The California state medical board revoked the license of a doctor who recommended medical cannabis edibles for a four-year-old's temper tantrums.
• Separately, regulators in California will hold a meeting about proposed changes to cannabis tax rules on February 5.
• BILL WOULD SLASH CANNABIS TAXES TO COMPETE WITH BLACK MARKET. Legal cannabis prices in California are far too high, which is why Assemblymember Rob Bonta announced a bill on Jan. 28 to slash cannabis excise tax from 15 percent to 11 percent and completely scrap the cultivation tax for the next three years.  Read More... 
  
• The Hawaii Senate Judiciary Committee debated a marijuana legalization bill, with a vote expected next week. Earlier this month, the body’s president said that considering ending cannabis prohibition would be a top priority in 2019.
  

​//Oregon//

• ​Oregon's secretary of state released an audit that calls into question the effectiveness of regulations on tracking and testing of marijuana. Auditors found gaps in the state’s developing regulatory framework that increase the risk of legal marijuana being diverted to the black market and out-of-state. Auditors also found the state must do more to protect public health and improve laboratory testing by considering more robust testing requirements, enhancing oversight, and ensuring labs meet accreditation standards.
• The 2019 Recreational Marijuana Supply and Demand Legislative Report is more than just about numbers. Its substance and specific methodology reflect a state-of-the-art approach for evaluating use and demand and normalizing values and equivalencies of differing cannabis products as produced and sold in the Oregon marketplace. While not infallible, this study provides a sound base for the discussion and debate of policy development. The OLCC appreciates the work and time its talented staff and outside peer reviewers have spent to bring forward this public data on legal marijuana production in Oregon. A copy of the 2019 Recreational Marijuana Supply and Demand Legislative Report can be found on the OLCC on the Recreational Marijuana main page under the Government Resources column.
• The Oregon Senate bill to direct prosecutors to expunge cannabis convictions is numbered SB 420. Senator Lew Frederick didn’t ask for his cannabis-related bill in the Oregon State Legislature to be named Senate Bill 420. No, really, he didn’t. “I wish I could say I was that prescient, but it was totally a coincidence,” Frederick told the Mercury about the number for his bill, which aims to help people convicted under outdated state marijuana laws. “It’s perhaps a nice omen.”​