Oregon researchers will add cattle to their hemp animal feed studies under a new federal grant. The U.S. Department of Agriculture granted nearly $300,000 to researchers at Oregon State University studying how to implement the safe use of hemp byproducts into livestock diets, to maximize their potential nutritional properties. The Oregon State study earned $299,950 […]
Oregon is considering new limits on delta-8 THC amid concerns that state regulations don’t adequately address the newly popular cannabinoid. Members of the Oregon Liquor Control Commission, which regulates the marijuana industry, recently discussed testing requirements and other safety regulations for delta-8 THC sold in dispensaries. Eleven states currently ban delta-8 THC entirely: Alaska, Arkansas, […]
(Photo courtesy of Asheville Hemp Project) More than two years after Congress passed the 2018 Farm Bill, making hemp a legal agricultural commodity, farmers finally have one national set of rules for growing the crop. And they officially take effect Monday. The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced in early March that its final hemp production […]
Organigram, a Canadian marijuana company that recently partnered with a subsidiary of cigarette maker British American Tobacco to develop new products, is predicting increasing regulations coming to the CBD space. Organigram CEO Greg Engel says the regulatory landscape for CBD is soon to change. “We’re going to see tightening regulations, more restrictions, more focus not […]
Roger Brown (Editor’s note: This story is part of a recurring series of commentaries from professionals connected to the hemp industry. Roger Brown is CEO and founder of ACS Laboratory in Sun City Center, Florida.) The final nationwide hemp rules taking effect Monday are more friendly to farmers because they increase the THC negligence standard […]
CBD maker Elixinol Global has acquired German CBD brand CannaCare Health GmbH as it executes its strategy to pursue market opportunities in Europe. Elixinol said it is buying the company for 3 million euros in cash ($3.6 million) plus 6 million euros in Elixinol shares ($7.2 million). The deal calls for Elixinol to pay up […]
Today a trailer for Demi Lovato’s new Youtube Series “Demi Lovato: Dancing With the Devil” was released, along with more information she reveals in the actual series.
One of the sticking points has been the revelation that Lovato is no longer sober. From Entertainment Tonight:
“I’ve learned that it doesn’t work for me to say that I’m never going to do this again… I know I’m done with the stuff that’s going to kill me, right?
“Telling myself that I can never have a drink or smoke marijuana, I feel like that’s setting myself up for failure because I am such a black-and-white thinker.
“I had it drilled into my head for so many years that one drink was equivalent to a crack pipe… [I’ve] been smoking weed and drinking in moderation.”
Although I have not seen the series, this confession comes off extremely brave.
The stigma around a “moderation” option as opposed to sobriety is understandable. If you’re allowing yourself some leniency, who’s to say it would stop there? Wouldn’t the boundary just continually get pushed further?
Of course it’s possible, but moderation can work for some. It seems the most integral part of the process has less to do with moderation or abstinence, and more to do with community. As long as your support group is strong, compassionate, and free of judgment, you’re ahead of the game no matter what road you’re traveling down.
Demi Lovato’s admittance of moderation will hopefully shed light on the many options. Some see sobriety as too steep a hill to climb, therefore resist help. Hopefully someone like Lovato, with the large platform she has access to, can enlighten people to other ways forward.
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A new study is getting published in the Journal of Adolescent Health that will report findings on the danger of cannabis vaping.
While it’s not out yet, a report was written over at University of Michigan that sheds light on how the findings were studied.
The researchers compiled self-reported symptoms from a sample of adolescents between 12 and 17 years old from the “2016-2018 Wave of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Healthy Study.” They were looking for symptoms like wheezing, chest whistling, dry coughs, chest illness, etc.
Those who vaped marijuana were twice as likely to report wheezing and whistling.
It should be noted this is a survey, with very little control, and MUCH more research needs to be done in the field, but still fascinating to see that marijuana vapes are not the healthiest of alternatives, despite marketing and common understanding. Maybe that good old fashioned flower is still the way to go.
“Future studies need to assess if it is the combination of vaping both nicotine and cannabis that is creating so many respiratory issues,” says Philip Veliz, University of Michigan research assistant professor of nursing. “It may be the combination of vaping cannabis along with smoking cigarettes is what leads to the high rates of respiratory symptoms among youthful marijuana vapers.”
Read the original here.
We had written an article about the complexities that occur after weed becomes legal in a state, and a new article at Asbury Park Press pretty much takes the cake.
In Massachusetts, there’s concern that there won’t be any spaces to smoke weed in public, but the saving grace has always been that you can just take the weed home with you, smoking peacefully in your living room.
However, the way the marijuana bill in New Jersey was written up, there’s an option for property owners to ban smoking on their properties, which would include individual units.
That’s 37% of citizens of the state who are potentially within this ban.
Smoking indoors is quite commonly prohibited indoors in signed leases, so it’s not out of the question for marijuana smoking to become targeted.
The fines associated are $250 for the first offense, $500 for the second, and $1,000 for every offense after that. This money would go to the state, not the landlords.
The problem here is more associated with the smoke itself, so things like edibles are still on the table. And while many of us renters have smoking bans already written into our leases, of course there are ways to hide the act (which I’m not condoning!..kinda), but still, the knowledge of your habit being prohibited can linger in the back of your mind. It’s not always the most pleasant.
Read the full story at Asbury Park Press.
The next hurdle we’re coming up against as a nation with many states passing legal marijuana is the regulation phase. It varies from region to region, and is all around a confusing mess to wrap your head around.
The first difficulty is the disparity between legal marijuana and legal consumption of marijuana.
An article in the Boston Globe tackles this problem for Massachusetts.
In the state, it’s illegal to smoke marijuana in public, yet with the growing number of pot shops popping in crowded areas, alleyway smoking and subsequent fines are all but inevitable.
So State Senator Julian Cyr is trying to combat this problem by introducing a bill that would allow “social consumption” venues. Basically, cannabis lounges.
“I pretty much know that at some point this summer, the Provincetown police chief is going to call me and say, ‘This is an issue,’” Cyr tells the Boston Globe. “What we’re trying to do here is anticipate what we know could be a problem, and I think social consumption [venues] will do a much better job of addressing nuisance issues and promoting public health than the police giving people $100 tickets.”
This kind of venue is also in the works or available in other states, including California, Alaska, Colorado, and Nevada.
New Jersey has also had its fair share of complications on the road to legalizing pot. After months of problem after problem popping its head out before a bill could be signed, a couple weeks ago, marijuana was finally legalized in the state.
A new and probably temporary issue is the question of whether marijuana users can be fired from their job due to their smoking habits.
According to law, they are a protected class, but Asbury Park Press has an article detailing the uncertainty as to when this becomes operative.
From Asbury Park Press:
“As written, the employment provisions in the marijuana laws ‘take effect immediately’ but ‘do not become operative’ until the Cannabis Regulatory Commission sets forthcoming rules and regulations, a process that could take months.”
There’s also disagreement in the state as to how much sway a drug test should hold, despite it no longer being grounds for termination. It becomes more difficult to discern if someone is high on the job as opposed to having smoked on their off time. Along with a drug test, an officer from the Drug Recognition Experts must come in to determine the workers level of intoxication.
But according to APP, the timing of their stepping in and the kind of test they use are all up to question.
These are all complications that will eventually find answers, but for many states, it’s only the beginning of the new cultural acceptance of marijuana, with many more areas having to face a need for public areas of consumption and an end to workplace discrimination.
Read the source stories at Boston Globe and Asbury Park Press.
