EP91 Plain Jane Hemp

Evan from Plain Jane Hemp -  "Plain Jane is a cannabis company focused on making the smoothest, cleanest, most odorless cannabis products on the market. Their hemp rolls were designed to be an alternative to tobacco, allowing them to be sold and consumed everywhere that cigarettes are currently. They process their hemp to remove terpenes and toxins from the plant to give you a low-smell, smooth product that you can feel comfortable smoking just about anywhere. ​​


//CANNABIS NEWS// May 13 - May 20, 2019

//HEADLINES//

• The last few of weeks in the Oregon cannabis industry have been filled with confusion, accusations, and pain over announcements made by Phylos Bioscience. Last week, news broke that in relation to that situation, the Open Cannabis Project (OCP) is shutting down on May 31. The Open Cannabis Project was dedicated to charting the chemical and genetic characteristics of different strains, in the hopes of creating an open-source archival record of strains, which could benefit science and prevent corporations from patenting strains that have already been in existence. "Through it all, and despite our best efforts, we’ve been called a fraud, a scam and a cover for some kind of secret plot. At first, we thought it was simply a technical misunderstanding of the subject matter. Now we know that there is truth to some of these fears. For those of us who were brought into OCP as it separated from Phylos, we came on board because we sincerely believe in protecting small growers and breeders during this crucial transition to a legal market. We also feel we have been deceived. As a result, no matter what we do as an organization going forward, Open Cannabis Project will never escape this deception." The "deception" is something she attributes to a recently released video of Phylos CEO Mowgli Holmes speaking at an investor conference in February in Florida (because of course it would be Florida). As Schechter writes, "According to Dr. Holmes, Phylos now considers itself a 'legacy data company' and the genetic sequencing and sex test services they provide growers and breeders only exist to support the breeding project. Some of the statements Dr. Holmes made dismiss the work of the very breeders who contributed to their research and suggest that their breeding project will create 'outrageous new strains' to replace them. Dr. Holmes’s presentation to investors confirms many of the fears the community has had about Phylos’ intentions for years."
• The head of the White House’s drug policy office was asked about marijuana, CBD and racial inequities in treatment access during a congressional appearance on Thursday. Rep. Jim Jorden (R-OH) kicked off the cannabis questioning during the House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing on the opioid crisis by asking both Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) Director James Carroll and a Florida sheriff about their positions on “liberalizing marijuana laws” in the country. The sheriff flatly said he was “1,000 percent” against it and peddled a gateway drug theory . . . Carroll’s response was only somewhat less alarmist. “What we’ve seen is that the marijuana we have today is nothing like what it was when I was a kid, when I was in high school,” he said. “Back then the THC, the ingredient in marijuana that makes you high, was in the teens in terms of the percentage. Now what we’re seeing is twice that, three times that, in the plant.” He added that edible marijuana can have THC levels as high as 90 percent and said that, at this point, the government doesn’t understand how such products impact health. “We’re doing more research,” he said. “[The Drug Enforcement Administration] is working hard, [the Department of Health and Human Services] is working hard, to make sure that we understand the impact of legalization of marijuana on the body.”
• The Oregon Senate voted to legalize interstate marijuana imports and exports. A change in federal policy is required for the legislation’s provisions to take effect, but the vote itself is a first for any state. The Oregon Senate passed a landmark bill on Wednesday that would let the governor make agreements with other states to provide for the exportation and importation of marijuana products across state lines—but it will only go into effect if the federal government changes its own policies to allow such activity. Oregon senators approved the legislation in a 19 to 9 vote, and it now heads to the House. Producers, wholesalers and researchers would be able to take cannabis across state lines if the government forges an agreement with the receiving state. There would also be requirements related to the health, safety and labeling standards, and the products would have to be tracked. Any marijuana coming into Oregon would have to be tested and meet the state’s quality control standards. However, the Oregon bill to legalize marijuana social use areas is reportedly dead.

//Politics//

• Cheddar— Former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld told Cheddar Friday he will stay on the board of medical cannabis company Acreage Holdings while on the campaign trail toward a long-shot effort to oust President Trump in the 2020 presidential election. "Until being elected," Weld told Cheddar. "Once you get elected, I don't think that's such a good idea. But I'll stay on the board during the campaign. I enjoy that a lot." Another familiar face out of Washington ー and "pal" of Weld's ー former Speaker of the House John Boehner also sits on the board at Acreage. "[Boehner] had been implacably opposed to legalization of marijuana when he was Speaker of the House. And he changed his mind when his constituents changed their mind," Weld said.
• Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) reintroduced a bill aimed at solving border issues faced by marijuana industry participants, and to prevent immigrants from being deported over state-legal cannabis use.

​//Medical, Health & Research//​

• A review conducted by Leafly concluded that "Crime near licensed dispensaries has generally stayed flat or decreased, teen cannabis use in legal states has fallen since legalization, and property values near cannabis outlets generally are not affected or, in some cases, experience a greater value increase than comparable properties not near a cannabis outlet."
• A study found that "dogs in the CBD group had a significant reduction in seizure frequency, compared with the placebo group" but that "the proportion of dogs considered responders to treatment was similar between groups."
• A study found that Italy's legalization of sales of low-THC "light cannabis" led to "a reduction in dispensed packets of opioids, anxiolytics, sedatives, anti-migraines, antiepileptics, anti-depressives and anti-psychotics.” The researchers cited the "relaxant properties of CBD” as one reason.
• A study comparing the harms of various substances found that "alcohol was the most harmful drug when harm to users and harm to others was combined."
• A study concluded that "recreational cannabis legalisation is associated with neutral effects on healthcare utilisation" and "is linked to an increase in motor vehicle accidents, alcohol abuse, overdose injuries and a decrease in chronic pain admissions."
• A study found that "black males had a 2.2% point decrease in the relative probability of college enrollment after the passage of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986.”
• A study found that states see significant reductions in the severity of injuries stemming from domestic violence after the enactment of marijuana decriminalization, although there is not a drop in overall domestic violence incidents.

//Industry, Business & Financial//​​​

• The National Association of State Budget Officers published an overview of issues that states face when implementing marijuana legalization.
• A survey found that 82% of banking executives want the federal government to allow financial services providers to do business with the marijuana industry.

//Legal//​

• NAACP, ACLU and criminal justice groups are calling to suspend the Drug Enforcement Administration's enforcement activities until greater congressional oversight is exercised. “Its approach is heavy-handed, ineffective, unscientific, and deeply damaging to communities in this country, particular communities of color who bear the negative impact of the drug war more than others do.”

• Former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said he has a lot of concerns about marijuana legalization but that he thinks "the federal government at some point is going to have to contemplate a federal scheme" to "put the federal government back into some kind of harmony with the states where there's some kind of federal regulation."
• The Drug Enforcement Administration's Los Angeles office tweeted, "#DEA is targeting #cannabis and you will land in federal prison."
• California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) issued pardons for people convicted of marijuana and other drug offenses.
• A 2020 Department of Justice spending bill released by a House subcommittee includes state medical cannabis protections but not a broader rider shielding adult-use marijuana laws from federal interference.

//Hemp//

• FDA’s ‘March Assault’. The game forever changed on March 28, when, teamed with the FTC, the FDA issued warning letters to three CBD product sellers alleging false, unfounded, unsubstantiated and egregious health claims about their products’ ability to limit, treat or cure without sufficient evidence or FDA approval and threatening product seizures, injunctions and sales proceeds reimbursement. The targets—Advanced Spine and Pain/Relievus (a South Jersey and Pennsylvania pain clinic chain), Nutra Pure (a Washington CBDPure brand soft caps and oils manufacturer and seller), and PotNetwork Holdings (a Florida Liquid Gold Gummies manufacturer and seller)—advertised a range of CBD-containing supplements boasting the ability to effectively treat diseases (including cancer, Alzheimer’s and fibromyalgia) and “neuropsychiatric disorders” in both humans and animals. The warning letter apprises Relievus that its website’s claims establish that Relievus products are drugs under Section 201(g) of the FDA Act because they are “intended for use in the cure, mitigation, treatment or prevention of disease” although the products are:
  • Not generally recognized as safe and effective for these uses and, therefore, rendered “new drugs” under Section 201(p) of the FDA Act that are barred from being introduced into interstate commerce without prior FDA approval (which is solely provided on the basis of scientific data and information demonstrating that drug is safe and effective);
  • Misbranded under Section 502(f)(1) of the FDA Act for failing to bear adequate “intended use(s) directions” defined as “directions under which a layperson can use a drug safely and for the {intended} purposes” or as “prescription drugs” which “can only be used safely at the direction, and under the supervision, of a licensed practitioner”; and
  • Intended for treatment of one or more diseases that are not amenable to self-diagnosis or treatment without a licensed practitioner’s supervision” and for which it is “impossible to write adequate directions for a layperson to use your products safely for their intended purposes.”

Relievus’ warning letter also apprises that it is unlawful under the FTC Act “to advertise that a product can prevent, treat or cure human disease” unless possessing competent and reliable scientific evidence (including well-controlled human clinical studies, substantiating that claims are true at the time of making) and of the FTC’s concern that Relievus’ efficacy claims are not substantiated by competent and reliable scientific evidence. The warning letters instruct Relievus, Nutra Pure and PotNetwork to notify the FDA and FTC within 15 days of specific actions taken to address these concerns and threaten legal action including product seizures, injunctions and reimbursement of all sales proceeds.

• Top executives from Target, Walmart, Kroger and Safeway are reportedly meeting with CBD companies about potentially selling their products.
• Saks Fifth Avenue is selling CBD products.
• Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) signed an industrial hemp bill into law. The bill allows licensed growers to cultivate the crop on up to 40 acres (161874.4 sq. meters) but before that can begin the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship must develop a plan and submit it for approval of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The USDA must still release its own regulations this fall and hopes to have things in place for farmers to begin hemp growing during the 2020 planting season.
• Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is pushing to include provisions clarifying that hemp is eligible for federal crop insurance in a disaster relief funding bill.
• Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) signed a bill allowing the sale of hemp-derived CBD products.

//Culture & Lifestyle//

• On at least three occasions over the past month or so, Jeopardy quizzed participants about their knowledge of marijuana and psychedelic drugs. And one man, James Holzhauer got all three questions right.
• BIlly Ray Cyrus has a new marijuana-themed music video.
• The New York Times is asking people to share stories about how Colorado's marijuana legalization law has affected them.
• The latest episode of American Dad featured a Wonka-style marijuana factory, with Snoop Dogg voicing a character name Tommie Tokes.

​//International//

• Switzerland moves closer to legalization. Just as the European market could not get any more interesting, the Swiss Federal Commission for Addiction Issues has called for cannabis to be decriminalized and the market to finally be regulated. This recommendation comes on the heels of pharmacies kicking of a lobbying effort to dispense cannabis and a parliamentary proposal to start a pilot project allowing 5,000 Swiss citizens to legally use cannabis.
• Italy's interior minister is threatening to close the country's low-THC cannabis shops. In a move seen as more bluster than substance, an Italian official vowed to close all “cannabis light” shops in the country.
• “A war starts today, street by street, shop by shop, district by district, city by city,” Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior Matteo Salvini said while addressing a meeting of representatives from drug recovery organizations.
• “Cannabis light” – defined as cannabis with THC levels below 0.2% – was approved in Italy in 2017.
• The United Nations has announced the new member state roster for the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, which is set to vote next March on rescheduling marijuana and its components under international drug treaties.
• A Nigerian governor is touring cannabis operations in Thailand to inform plans for his state to grow marijuana.
• The Ukrainian Parliament's Human Rights, National Minorities and Interethnic Relations Committee filed a medical cannabis bill in response to a citizen petition.
• Israel's health ministry is removing marijuana from the country's list of dangerous drugs, which will allow its sales in pharmacies.
• Brazil's Senate approved legislation to increase penalties for selling drugs and force consumers to enter treatment.
• Mexico's interior secretary said the country "has marijuana of the highest quality" and "our ancestors used it in their rituals."

//Northeast//

• New York City’s ban on most pre-employment marijuana testing was enacted into law without the signature of Mayor Bill de Blasio (D), despite the fact that he said last month he "will sign that bill."
• Medical Marijuana Oils Pulled from Shelves at 13 Out of 15 Dispensaries in Ohio. The oils were pulled from the shelves this week after a labeling error was discovered by the Ohio State Board of Pharmacy.

​//The Southeast//

• Louisiana House Backs Legal Hemp and CBD. House Bill 491 as amended would clarify the law and allow CBD to be sold legally in Louisiana as long as it is not smoked or included in food or beverages.
• Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) signed a hemp bill into law. It authorizes certain academic research of hemp and provides for licensing and permit requirements for hemp growers and hemp processors,
• Arkansas medical cannabis sales began. The prices will be high and the waits may be long, but David Couch, the Little Rock attorney who drafted the constitutional amendment that made Arkansas the 33rd state to legalize medical marijuana, said the first day of sales will be a significant one. He noted that it has been more than 900 days since Arkansans voted to legalize the drug in November 2016, when they approved Amendment 98 to the Arkansas Constitution.

//The Midwest//

• Illinois’ New Adult-Use Cannabis Legalization Bill Focuses on Social Justice. The legislation outlines an expungement process, as well as benefits for business license applicants most directly impacted by prohibition.
• Colorado retailers sold more than $142 million in marijuana products in March, a new monthly record.

//The West & West Coast//​

• California is paying a price for the shaky rollout of its legal marijuana market. State budget documents released Thursday show the Newsom administration is sharply scaling back what it expects to collect in cannabis tax revenue through June 2020 — a $223-million cut from projections just four months ago. Read More
• Marijuana Moment — The discovery of illegal marijuana grow sites in national forests spanning Oregon and Washington declined after each state legalized recreational cannabis, a new study reports. But while legalization appears to have been a driving factor for decreased illicit cultivation in Oregon, that doesn’t seem to be the case in Washington. The difference, it seems, may have to do with the way each state wrote its marijuana laws. “Given the decrease in abundance of marijuana grow sites in Oregon national forests…this study suggests that liberalized marijuana policies in Oregon have contributed to a decrease in ecological damage in national forests resulting from illegal marijuana cultivation,” the authors wrote.

​//Oregon//​

• As you may recall, ODA Director Taylor sent a letter of intent to the USDA Secretary Perdue in early March. The letter urged the USDA to implement rules as soon as possible due to Oregon's hemp industry experiencing unnecessary transportation and commerce restrictions. ODA received a response from Secretary Perdue late April.  The letter is available on ODA's hemp webpage. Response to letter of intent from Director Alexis Taylor // ODA Hemp webpage
• ODA adopted new permanent hemp rules on May 15, 2019.  The rules make permanent temporary rules that were filed in early March and proposed rules filed late March. Visit the link below for the full rules. ODA Hemp Homepage