EP81(03.04.2019) Gina from Cannabiz Journal

//On Episode 81, Gina from Cannabiz Journal
From their Instagram:
Cannabiz Journal is a cannabis business magazine publication covering the Pacific Northwest. Want to be featured in their magazine? Send them a DM! 

Website: www.cannabizjournal.com
Instagram: @cannabizjournal
Facebook: www.facebook.com/CannaBizJournal.magazine/
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

//CANNABIS NEWS// (Feb 18th-25th, 2019)

//HEADLINES//

• Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO) spoke in a podcast interview about his Oval Office and telephone conversations about marijuana with President Trump stating, “At that point I realized that there was an ally in the president on this.”
• The United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs is delaying a vote on cannabis rescheduling recommendations that were scheduled to take place next month.
• A report about Facebook's content moderators says that many of them use marijuana and other drugs on the job to help cope with having to see so many disturbing posts.
• Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said his agency is investigating “possible alternative approaches” to regulating CBD products. During a speech at a conference hosted by the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, Gottlieb recognized that many members of the organization were interested in the “regulatory framework for products derived from cannabis.” He started by reiterating that the 2018 Farm Bill, which federally legalized industrial hemp, “specifically preserved” the FDA’s regulatory authority over products that contain cannabis or cannabis-derived compounds. The agency will continue to take action against companies that make unsanctioned claims about the therapeutic benefits of CBD products, engage in interstate commerce of foods containing cannabis compounds or market such products, he said.
• The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is investigating “possible alternative approaches” to regulating CBD products, Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said on Tuesday.
• Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell called for clarity on marijuana businesses’ access to banks during a Senate hearing. “I think it would be great to have clarity,” Powell said. “Financial institutions and their regulators and supervisors are in a very difficult position here with marijuana being illegal under federal law and legal under a growing number of state laws
  

​​//Politics//

• Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D), Utah Gov. Gary Herbert (R), South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R), Oregon Gov. Kate Brown (D) and Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont (D) all spoke about marijuana policy at a Politico event.
• Oregon Gov. Kate Brown (D) and Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf (D) spoke about decriminalizing marijuana and other drugs at a National Governors Association meeting.
• Surgeon General Jerome Adams tweeted that prohibitionist organization Smart Approaches to Marijuana was present at a meeting where federal officials discussed cannabis. He also posted several tweets expressing his thoughts on the alleged harms of marijuana legalization.
• On Friday, presidential candidate Sen. Amy Klobuchar said that she supports cannabis legalization, ending any remaining speculation as to where she now stands on the issue.
  Read More... ​Former Democratic National Committee Chair Howard Dean, also a former Vermont governor, said that he thinks the U.S. will end federal marijuana prohibition by 2021.

​//Medical, Health & Research//​

• A study found "little evidence that the enactment of [medical marijuana laws] has reduced opioid death rates" but did find "that the presence of a legal dispensary may reduce opioid deaths."
• A review concluded that "cannabidiol, a nontoxic phytocannabinoid with few side-effects is promising in various indications in medicine. The endocannabinoid system is a potential therapeutic target. Cannabinoids may be considered as potential adjuvant in cancer-related pain management. Cannabidiol appears to be the drug of choice. Analgesic trial designs should evolve to get closer to real-life practice and to avoid biases."
• A survey of California pharmacists found that "a majority of providers believe that marijuana has medical efficacy" but that "most providers report that they neither have much information about medical marijuana nor do they know where to get such information."
• A study found that "application of hemp oil to hair resulted in the incorporation of one or more cannabis constituents in 89% of volunteers, and 33% of the group tested positive for the three major constituents, THC, CBN and CBD."
• With all the marketing airtime the plant’s more lighthearted properties have enjoyed since legalization, why does it so often provoke feelings of crippling anxiousness (and sometimes, paranoia) in some users? One surprising predictor of a person’s experience following consumption is personal experience with cannabis, and any lingering feelings or expectations before intake. When what’s on a person’s mind isn’t particularly comforting, allowing THC and other psychoactive cannabinoids to run free, this can sometimes result in temporary instability, manifesting through the aforementioned anxiousness or even nausea. “It’s almost like a psychedelic, wherein those worries that are bubbling away become less possible to avoid.”
• A review of studies on chronic kidney disease concluded that "those treated with nonsynthetic cannabinoids were 43% to 300% more likely to report a ≥30% reduction in chronic neuropathic pain compared with placebo."
  
• A study of mice found that "cannabinoids can provide long-term relief of chronic pain states."
  
• A study found that "seeking and scanning for information about medical cannabis from online sources, but not from mass media sources, were associated with positive attitudes toward medical cannabis" and that "engagement with medical cannabis information from online sources was also indirectly associated with greater support for cannabis legalization, through positive attitudes related to medical cannabis."
• A study on extracting compounds from hemp using a continuous steam treatment found that "compounds with potentially useful applications, such as in medicine and in the chemical industry, were also identified in the extracts."
  

//Industry, Business & Financial//​​​

• ABC rejected an ad featuring actress Bella Thorne that Lowell Herb Co. wanted to air during the Oscars.
• Last week ended with wealth advisor Pepper International telling CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe" that the cannabis industry was a wise, sound investment and this week begins with a financial report that backs up that assertion. Hardly a day goes by without some type of industry news that demonstrates positive political momentum, a major milestone, or a huge business deal. As BNN Bloomberg reports, if the industry continues to make progress, great growth can be expected over the next decade...
• Former Mexican President Vicente Fox joined the board of directors of marijuana infrastructure company Helix TCS, Inc. Mr. Fox was the 55th President of Mexico and prior to that, he was the CEO of Coca Cola's Latin American operations. Additionally, Mr. Fox is the Founder of Centro Fox, a nonprofit foundation dedicated to serving communities in Mexico and Latin America, and he is recognized as an advocate for the legalization of medical cannabis throughout Latin America. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of a leading U.S.-based cannabis publication advocating legalization, as well as on the Board of Directors of Khiron Life Sciences, a leading, vertically integrated Latin American cannabis producer.
• The website of the CPA Consultants’ Alliance was hacked and several fake blog posts about cannabis-related products were uploaded and emailed to the organization’s mailing list.
• Aurora Cannabis Inc. is acquiring a 51% ownership stake in Portuguese company Gaia Pharm Lda.
  
• GW Pharmaceuticals's stock jumped after the company reported quarterly results including the first sales of its CBD drug Epidiolex.
  

//Legal//​

• A Bay of Pigs veteran serving time in federal prison for marijuana fears being deported to his native Cuba upon release this year, where he could be incarcerated again as a political prisoner.
• Washington State's attorney general said he would reach out to the office of new U.S. Attorney General William Barr to discuss marijuana.
• The state of Missouri recently finalized hemp regulations. A bill passed last year allowed the state to create a pilot program for industrial hemp growers. In July farmers argued the legislation did little to encourage people to grow industrial hemp because it restricted the number of growers to 40, with just 2,000 acres of industrial hemp statewide. With the department formulating rules for the program, farmers and legislators said little has changed in the state, even though last year’s farm bill legalized industrial hemp at the federal level.
• Jamaican-born musician, Patrick Beadle, 46, who had been previously convicted of drug trafficking in Madison County, Mississippi for possessing medical cannabis, could now be out of prison in as little as three years. He faced up to 40 years in prison initially but was sentenced to eight years without parole last October under state drug trafficking laws. However, with the recent decriminalization of cannabis possession adopted by many states, Beadle was allowed to plead guilty to simple possession of drugs. He has been sentenced to 12 years in prison but will be eligible for parole after serving three. Beadle is housed at the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility in Rankin County.
• San Francisco, California officials teamed up with Code For America to automatically expunge more than 8,000 marijuana convictions using a computer algorithm.  A novel approach to marijuana expungements has helped San Francisco identify more than 8,100 cannabis convictions dating back to 1975 that will soon be automatically cleared, the district attorney’s office announced on Monday. That would make San Francisco, which is both a city and county, the first county in the United States to complete an automatic marijuana expungement process. The office had previously expunged the records of 1,230 residents, so the sum total of sealed convictions will be over 9,600.
• Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb (R) said he supports a hemp legalization bill approved by the state Senate. Last year, the governor doubted the state's readiness to regulate the hemp industry. But this year, he is behind a push in the legislature to get hemp growing in Indiana's fields, telling IndyStar he is "supportive of efforts to establish a hemp program."
• Federal prosecutors charged three people with allegedly conspiring with a Los Angeles, California sheriff’s deputy to steal more than 1,200 pounds of marijuana.
  
• A California judge ruled against a licensed marijuana distributor's request for an injunction against the California Highway Patrol from involving federal agencies in cash seizures.
  

//Hemp//

• The U.S. Department of Agriculture issued an update on its efforts to implement the Farm Bill’s hemp legalization provisions. Among the moves planned are a public listening session to be held next month.
  
• Kentucky's agriculture commissioner tweeted that he'll be talking about hemp with colleagues at the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture conference.
• Maine regulators are apologizing for directing retailers to take CBD products off their shelves. The regulator says one inspector's order to remove the hemp-derived products from stores was misguided and merchants should have been told to review federal law and seek legal counsel if they had questions.
• The termination of a South Carolina law enforcement program for testing plant matter could create a backlog as hemp cultivation expands.

//Culture & Lifestyle//

• Former NBA coach Don Nelson said that he's been smoking marijuana in his retirement. "I never smoked when I played or coached so it's new to me. I'm doing that and I'm having a pretty good time. It's more legal now than it's ever been, so I'm enjoying that."
• A Boys and Girls Clubs of America vice president said that marijuana legalization makes it more "difficult" to encourage young people not to consume cannabis.
• The American Kennel Club, which sanctions the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, tweeted a promotion for CBD products for dogs.
• MARTHA STEWART JOINS CANNABIS COMPANY TEAM. Canada-based cannabis producer Canopy Growth and Sequential Brands Group, Inc. announced that Martha Stewart has joined forces in an advisory role for CBD product development. Read More... 
  

​//International//

• ONE OF THE WORLD'S LARGEST CANNABIS FACILITIES PLANNED IN AUSTRALIA. Canada-based Asterion Cannabis Inc. plans to build what is being called “the world’s largest marijuana facility” in Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia. Read More... 
• Zimbabwe's government approved 37 investors for cannabis cultivation operations. This follows last year's decision by Government to legalise cannabis production. Lands, Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement Deputy Minister Vangelis Haritatos said Government was overwhelmed by applications after more than 200 foreign and local investors showed interest in venturing into production of cannabis in the country.
• Peruvian officials published medical cannabis regulations. The regulations cover guidelines and procedures for research, farming and production limits, importation, and the marketing and sale of medicinal marijuana and its byproducts. It also  outlines the procedures for medical prescriptions, including a registry of patients/users.

​//Northeast//

• The New York Medical Cannabis Industry Association launched a TV ad urging the state to legalize marijuana.
• New Jersey Won't See Legal Marijuana Sales Until January 2020 at Earliest, Top Lawmaker Says. Lawmakers are making progress in negotiations over a sweeping package of legislation to legalize adult-use marijuana, expand the state's medical program and overhaul the rules for expunging drug-related violations.
• Pennsylvania's lieutenant governor cut the ribbon at the opening of a new medical cannabis dispensary. Meanwhile, the Senate majority leader reiterated his opposition to legalizing marijuana.

​//The Southeast//

• Marijuana Smoking Bill Rolls Along in Florida Senate. A Senate proposal that would allow patients to smoke medical marijuana is ready to go to the full Senate after the Rules Committee unanimously signed off on the measure.

​ //The Midwest// 

• Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) is being called out by PolitiFact for a "Pants on Fire" false statement in a press release that claimed "drug-related crimes account for as many as 75-85 percent of all inmates in our prisons."
• Former Detroit Lions star receiver Calvin Johnson was approved for pre-qualification for a license to open a provisioning center in Michigan.  Read More...
  
• In an interview with Marijuana Moment, a key North Dakota cannabis activist talked about lessons learned from last year’s failed legalization ballot measure and how they will inform a new effort for 2020. "The last time, our bill was unlimited growing, no licensing, no permitting and nothing beyond a sales tax. It was a really aggressive measure so we’re going to taper it back a little bit. We’re going to have some grow limits and a possession limit. We’re going to have some form of an excise tax and we’re going to have a licensing system."
• In North Dakota, the state Supreme Court opted not to take up a case on the legality of hemp-derived CBD.
  

//The West & West Coast//​

• Colorado lawmakers will hold a hearing on legislation to allow publicly traded companies to hold marijuana business licenses on Monday.
• The Denver, Colorado City Council voted 10-1 to remove the sunset provision of the city's marijuana social use law, making it permanent. Meanwhile, the city's second cannabis social use business has "temporarily closed" after only a few weeks of operations. “We’re for sale,” Megan Lumpkins told The Denver Post. She co-founded the venue with her son, Taylor Rosean. In a news release, she described the closure as temporary. “We look forward to Vape and Play opening again to the public soon,” she wrote. The business has been complying with the permit rules and hasn’t faced any significant complaints, according to city officials.
• California regulators say they are processing marijuana cultivation business licenses "as quickly as possible" to avoid product shortages.
• Alaska Cannabis Industry Cites Uncertainty Under Gov. Dunleavy. Dunleavy has made new appointments to the five-member Marijuana Control Board while also planning to propose repealing its existence.

​​//Oregon//​

• The cannabis industry and public health advocates are facing off again over a proposal to allow Oregonians and visitors to light up in specified public places. A legislative committee on Thursday heard testimony on Senate Bill 639, which would allow the Oregon Liquor Control Commission to permit cannabis lounges and smoking opportunities at events — if the local government opts in. Backers argue that renters and others who don’t have a home where they can smoke deserve options beyond the street. They also say having regulated public places to smoke could further the development of a craft cannabis industry, as Oregon becomes a mecca for cannabis connoisseurs from around the world.

​​//Grow & CANNAbiz Tips//

• 1