420 with CNW — WADA Announces Intention to Review Stance on Marijuana Ban

The World Anti-Doping Agency (“WADA”) will reassess its stance on whether marijuana should remain on the prohibited list. This comes after the incident where American runner Sha’Carri Richardson was forced to pull out of the Tokyo Olympic Games. During the U.S. Olympic Trials, Richardson’s 100 meters win was cut short after it was revealed that she had tested positive for cannabis. This led to her disqualification; she was also banned from competing for 30 days.

Whether cannabis has a positive effect on an athlete is being challenged by the German Institute for Biochemistry. According to the institute, cannabis does not improve an athlete’s performance; however, its use could lead to further risky behavior within certain sports.

WADA said that the executive committee supported the resolutions from the List Expert Advisory Group to conduct a scientific review on cannabis this year. This was after a number of stakeholders issued requests to review the status of cannabis on the list. However, the body clarified that cannabis is still prohibited in competitions held this year.

Dr Peter Brukner, a researcher as well as a sports physician, has spent the last year studying medical cannabis. He said that there is no evidence that marijuana enhances the performance of an athlete; in fact, he says, it is “performance limiting.” Brukner believes the reason why the substance is banned is because of the legality issues surrounding it. This year, the doctor will be conducting clinical trials at La Trobe University to see whether medical cannabis is effective for pain relief and can be incorporated into the treatment for athletes.

At this year’s Winter Olympics, Kamila Valieva, a figure skater representing Russia, tested positive for the heart drug trimetazidine and was still allowed to compete in the Beijing games. The 15-year-old won gold in the team competition, and Sha’Carri Richardson questioned the double standard as to Valieva was still allowed to compete despite having a doping charge.

During the ruling, the Court of Arbitration for Sport said that Valieva was not cleared, which means that there is a possibility that her awards could be stripped and that her submission to different rules is because she was judged as a minor and not an adult athlete.

Other leagues have recently been revising their policies on marijuana use. On Feb. 1, 2022, the NFL issued a $1 million research grant to look into marijuana’s effectiveness in pain management. Last year, the NBA stopped subjecting its players to THC tests and stated that it would only intervene in cases where there was a present history of abuse. In 2019, the MLB removed marijuana from its list of banned substances but will continue to prohibit its players from getting into contracts with cannabis businesses such as Cannabis Strategic Ventures Inc. (OTC: NUGS) regardless of their legality in the jurisdictions where they operate.

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Cannabis Strategic Ventures Inc. (OTC: NUGS) are available in the company’s newsroom at http://cnw.fm/NUGS

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CNW420 spotlights the latest developments in the rapidly evolving cannabis industry through the release of two informative articles each business day. Our concise, informative content serves as a gateway for investors interested in the legalized cannabis sector and provides updates on how regulatory developments may impact financial markets. Articles are released each business day at 4:20 a.m. and 4:20 p.m. Eastern – our tribute to the time synonymous with cannabis culture. If marijuana and the burgeoning industry surrounding it are on your radar, CNW420 is for you! Check back daily to stay up-to-date on the latest milestones in the fast -changing world of cannabis.

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420 with CNW — PanXchange Launches Industrial Hemp Trading Platform

Earlier this week, PanXchange launched its industrial hemp trading platform, which is open to qualified CPG manufacturers, processors, growers and trade houses, waiving commissions and registration fees. PanXchange has created buyer-approved methodologies that are inclusive of farmers, both small and large. The platform is focused on creating benchmark pricing for improved risk management and physical commodity trading markets.

PanXchange CEO Julie Lerner explained that since the legalization of hemp, the growth of the hemp industry has suffered greatly because of competition, overproduction, stigma in mainstream agriculture and subsequent mergers and acquisitions, which wasn’t helped by the coronavirus pandemic. Lerner added that the platform was launched to help support the community as the company believed in the crop’s future as an industrial product, which is why it opted to waive commissions and registration on all semiprocessed fiber and cannabinoid trading. This free trading decision complements the company’s grassland and cropland carbon credit program.

Hemp is a carbon-friendly commodity that sequesters carbon found in the soil. Studies have found that this crop can trap 200% more carbon annually than eucalypt trees. It can also be used as an ecofriendly substitute in products such as bioplastics, building materials and hempcrete.

Lerner also explained that most programs available to farmers currently were prohibitive and costly, noting that farmers needed to be financially remunerated for using smarter farming practices. Their program, she added, provided a viable solution. The company’s hemp platform provides a centralized and user-friendly marketplace where parties can trade and source hemp cannabinoids as well as a variety of other industrial hemp products.

The company’s director of hemp Seth Boone stated that opening the market also offered the company more opportunities to build liquidity. He explained that the platform was synonymous with a cash market, which was where industry stakeholders went to manage last-minute issues with supply chains, seek short-term opportunities and observe current prices. Boone noted that negotiating a long-term contract with a counterpart involved having confidence in the price.

The PanXchange hemp platform serves as a resource for stakeholders to extend their supply chain networks and will help facilitate the full commercialization of hemp in various sectors, including textiles, bioplastics and building materials.

While the company’s meticulous vetting process remains unchanged for new members, its interactive charts, in-depth fundamental analysis and monthly benchmark prices do require a subscription. PanXchange remains focused on developing the same grassland and cropland carbon credits, which offer its clientele better risk management and hedging.

If this exchange pans out as expected, it could eventually attract established players in the cannabis value chain such as Flora Growth Corp. (NASDAQ: FLGC) to source any additional biomass needed for their operations.

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Flora Growth Corp. (NASDAQ: FLGC) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://cnw.fm/FLGC

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CannabisNewsBreaks – Grapefruit USA Inc. (GPFT) CEO Elected to Coachillin’ Canna-Business Park Board

Grapefruit USA (OTCQB: GPFT), an innovative California-based cannabiotech company, today announced that its Chief Executive Officer Bradley J. Yourist was elected to the Coachillin’ Industrial Cultivation and Ancillary Canna-Business Park’s Property Owners Association Board of Directors (the “Board”) for a one-year term, effective immediately. Located 14 miles north of downtown Palm Springs, the 160-acre Coachillin’ Canna-Business Park is the first and largest cooperative canna-business compound of its kind. The landowners each own a proportionate interest in a collaborative owner’s association, allowing them to share much of the park overhead such as clean cultivation water, park security and access to agricultural power rates and, thereby, develop relatively low-cost economies of scale, providing a competitive advantage over independent cannabis operations. “It is an honor for me to have been elected to a one-year term as a member of the Board,” said Bradley J. Yourist, Grapefruit’s CEO and co-founder. “As a Board member, I will acquire a unique perspective on the rapidly evolving California cannabis industry and the progress of the Coachillin’ Canna-Business Park. I intend to refer innovative new cannabis industry participants to the Park over the next year. Of course, the Board seat will afford me the opportunity to advance Grapefruit’s initiative to build out our Coachillin’ ‘Mothership’ as quickly as possible.”

To view the full press release, visit https://cnw.fm/cTXUq

About Grapefruit USA Inc.

Grapefruit’s corporate headquarters is in Westwood, Los Angeles, California. Grapefruit holds California permits and licenses to both manufacture and distribute cannabis products in the Golden State. Grapefruit’s extraction laboratory and manufacturing and distribution facilities are located in the industry-recognized Coachillin’ Industrial Cultivation and Ancillary Canna-Business Park in Desert Hot Springs, located on the extension of North Canyon Road, approximately 14 miles north of downtown Palm Springs. For more information about the company and its operations, visit www.GrapefruitBlvd.com.

About CannabisNewsWire

CannabisNewsWire (CNW) is an information service that provides (1) access to our news aggregation and syndication servers, (2) CannabisNewsBreaks that summarize corporate news and information, (3) enhanced press release services, (4) social media distribution and optimization services, and (5) a full array of corporate communication solutions. As a multifaceted financial news and content distribution company with an extensive team of contributing journalists and writers, CNW is uniquely positioned to best serve private and public companies that desire to reach a wide audience of investors, consumers, journalists and the general public. CNW has an ever-growing distribution network of more than 5,000 key syndication outlets across the country. By cutting through the overload of information in today’s market, CNW brings its clients unparalleled visibility, recognition and brand awareness. CNW is where news, content and information converge.

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420 with CNW — DEA Offers Help to Parents in Decoding Emojis Kids Use in Reference to Marijuana

A guide released by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) reveals that people are buying and selling drugs on social media through emojis. The guide does not provide a thorough list of the emojis used, but it shows the efforts the agency is putting into monitoring discussions around the drug trade online.

The DEA launched this guide as part of a campaign known as “One Pill Can Kill.” The goal of the campaign is to prevent an increase in overdose deaths as well as create awareness about counterfeit prescription drugs to parents, educators, teachers, the press and community organizations. Last year, according to a report by ABC, the DEA confiscated more than 20 million fake pills. It is estimated that 40% of those had potentially lethal doses of fentanyl, the substance that is the cause for most overdose deaths.

Brian McNeal, the spokesman for the Detroit Field Division of the DEA, said that because of the design of counterfeit pills, neither the agency nor its agents can detect the drug’s harmfulness unless it is tested in a lab.

Emojis help in sending coded information between the buyer and the seller. Therefore, decoding emojis is a key part of the campaign because it helps the targeted parties be vigilant for signs of discussions on an illegal drug trade. According to McNeal, emojis also appear in short form videos on social media. The guide is designed to help parents and teachers gather insights that will assist them in mentoring the teens and young adults.

Some of the key takeaways from the findings include the fact that emojis are used to describe specific drugs from meth to marijuana as well as actions. For example, Percocet is represented by the P button emoji while cocaine can be referenced by the 8-ball emoji. The findings have also found that bombs and fire flame emojis are used to describe the drug’s potency level.

The discussions take place on a range of platforms. According to the DEA, Snapchat is the most used for such communication. Instagram comes in third place after Facebook Messenger.

The report, however, has missed out on highlighting the more common uses of emojis. For example, marijuana is represented by the Canadian maple leaf emoji or tree emoji and shrooms are represented by the mushroom emoji. In addition to these two, the gas container emoji, which indicates the potency level in marijuana, is missing as well as the eyeball emoji, which is used to show the trending product.

These efforts by the DEA are one way to ensure that any cannabis products made by licensed entities such as Red White & Bloom Brands Inc. (CSE: RWB) (OTCQX: RWBYF) never end up in the hands of underage consumers.

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420 with CNW — Latest Report Shows Record-Breaking 2021 Cannabis Sales in Colorado

Last week, the Department of Revenue in the state of Colorado released its cannabis sales figures for 2021, which show that the state broke another cannabis sales record last year as state officials reported more than $2.22 billion in marijuana purchases. The state’s 2020 sales record stood at $2.19 billion in cannabis purchases.

These latest figures also show that Colorado took in more than $423 million in tax revenue from adult-use and medical cannabis sales in 2021. Since the retail market was launched almost eight years ago, marijuana sales have surpassed $12 billion.

The department stated that the Cannabis Tax Reports show fee revenue and state tax collected every month as posted in the state’s accounting system. It explained that tax revenue was derived from the 15% state retail cannabis excise tax, which is imposed on transfers of retail cannabis/wholesale sales, the 15% state retail cannabis sales tax that is levied on retail cannabis sold in stores, and the 2.9% state sales tax imposed on cannabis sold in stores. The department also noted that fee revenue came from cannabis license and application fees.

Almost $500 million of marijuana tax revenue in the state has been used to support Colorado’s public school system. In 2021, Colorado raked in $423 million in cannabis tax dollars.

Other states are observing similar trends in increased tax and sales revenue as more states across the country legalize marijuana for medical and/or adult use. For instance, the state of Illinois has also recorded increases in its marijuana taxes, with figures showing that it collected roughly $100 million more from adult-use cannabis than alcohol last year.

Massachusetts state data released in January also shows that the state is collecting more tax revenue from cannabis than from alcohol. As of December 2021, Massachusetts had collected about $74 million from marijuana and $51 million from alcohol taxes, at the halfway point of the fiscal year. Overall, this state has recorded roughly $2.5 billion in adult-use cannabis purchases, since its market came online in 2018.

In Arizona, state officials reported in January that the state recorded more than $1.2 billion in marijuana purchases in the first eleven months of last year.

A report released by the Marijuana Policy Project shows that states which have legalized cannabis have collected more than $10 billion in marijuana tax revenue since licensed sales began in 2014. The report highlights that regulators in these adult-use states have been ensuring that the tax dollars are invested effectively. Those tax revenue statistics show that the marijuana industry together with its sector players such as American Cannabis Partners are living up to the expectation that the industry can be an instrumental factor in reviving or boosting economies.

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to American Cannabis Partners are available in the company’s newsroom at https://cnw.fm/ACP

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CannabisNewsBreaks – Flora Growth Corp. (NASDAQ: FLGC) Excited to Bring Cannabis Wellness Products to Consumers in Columbia, Around the Globe

Flora (NASDAQ: FLGC), a leading all-outdoor cultivator and manufacturer of global cannabis products and brands, today announced that it has filed 23 cannabinoid-infused food and beverage products with the Instituto Nacional de Vigilancia de Medicamentos y Alimentos (“INVIMA”), similar to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”). The announcement comes as Colombian President Ivan Duque signed Resolution 227, which provides the framework for the use, distribution and export of cannabis, dried flower and other non-psychoactive derivatives. Flora expects to be the world’s first cultivator to obtain these unique INVIMA approvals for its cannabinoid-infused food and beverage products developed under its KASA Wholefoods division, which prioritizes the sourcing of natural ingredients and value-chain sustainability to create items to help consumers restore and thrive. “We are incredibly excited by the government’s decision to permit cannabinoid food and beverage products and look forward to bringing these cannabis wellness products to consumers in Colombia and around the globe,” said Luis Merchan, president and CEO of Flora Growth. “Aligning with globally recognized safety and compliance standards is at the forefront of Flora’s strategy, particularly when it comes to the food and beverage sector of the cannabis industry.”

To view the full press release, visit https://cnw.fm/ieKKA

About Flora Growth Corp.

Flora is building a connected, design-led collective of plant-based wellness and lifestyle brands delivering the most compelling customer experiences in the world, one community at a time. As the operator of one of the largest outdoor cannabis cultivation facilities, Flora leverages natural, cost-effective cultivation practices to supply cannabis derivatives to its diverse business divisions of cosmetics, hemp textiles, and food and beverage. Visit www.FloraGrowth.ca or follow @floragrowthcorp on social for more information.

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420 with CNW — Canada Set to Launch First In-Airport Marijuana Retail Store

British Columbia’s Prince George Airport may soon host the first in-airport marijuana store in the world. Owen Ritz, the cofounder of Copilot, which is the retail brand that’s spearheading this project, revealed that its airport terminal store would be open by the beginning of summer after store construction was completed and further approvals required from the government were received.

In a recent interview, Ritz explained that cannabis was a product that some individuals used to relieve stress and, given that travelling was a stressful experience, the store’s presence would benefit customers who were looking to buy cannabis products and potentially consume them before they travelled. He added that other potential customers included curious travelers who ordinarily wouldn’t visit a marijuana store or travelers who wanted to pick up some products before they headed to their final destination.

The Prince George Airport Authority had announced the planned marijuana retailer earlier in the year.

In the interview, Ritz also revealed that he and Reed Horton, the cofounder of Copilot, first pitched the retail concept to the airport a couple of years ago, which earned them the authority’s support and approval. However, this was before the coronavirus pandemic when the regional single-terminal airport served about half a million travelers.

The cannabis retail store will be located in a central point, between the security checkpoint and the check-in hall. The store will not sell its products to airline staff or airport staff on shift. It will also not sell its products to travelers with final destinations or international transits.

Additionally, air travelers will be allowed to legally bring marijuana on domestic Canadian flights. While the airport remains a nonsmoking zone at the moment, plans are underway to create a designated marijuana consumption area for the responsible consumption of marijuana products. This will be similar to what has been done in the Calgary, Kelowna and Vancouver airports.

Copilot’s goal is to create a travel-focused brand that focuses on travel and cannabis. In the future, the company hopes to produce and sell products that specifically cater to the needs of travelers rather than ordinary commodity marijuana products. The company is primarily focused on Canada, as the United States still federally prohibits marijuana, despite most states legalizing the herb for recreational and/or medical use.

With regard to duty-free sales of cannabis, Ritz notes that the possibility of duty-free airport marijuana sales in the future is an opportunity more than it is a risk.

Canada looks set to blaze the trail for the cannabis industry in many ways, and internationally oriented companies such as Flora Growth Corp. (NASDAQ: FLGC) may have a lot more avenues to exploit in their bid to expand their footprint across national borders.

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420 with CNW — Cannabis Flower Still Rules US Market, But Dominance Is Waning

Flower is the largest category for cannabis products on the U.S. cannabis market. However, its influence is slowly waning as the shift in demand for adult-use products grows.

Recent sales figures from Headset, a research institute based in Oregon, reveal that the prices for flower are dropping in Colorado, California, Michigan, Oregon, Nevada and Washington state. Data shows that the price per gram of flower dropped in the six states by 14%. In January, the flower fetched around $6.78 per gram, dropping to $5.82 in December. The market share in those six states grew from about $5 billion in 2020 to almost $5.5 billion in 2021.

However, the overall market share for flowers fell. According to Cooper Ashley, the senior data analyst at Headset, the 11.5% rise in flower sales was lower than the 18% increase in overall marijuana sales. By contrast, pre-rolls experienced about a 39% increase with sales figures revealing that the market share grew from about $1 billion in 2020 to $1.4 billion in 2021. Within the same period, the share for edibles increased by 20.4% going from about $1.1 billion to $1.4 billion.

As more products arrive in the markets and growers develop their facilities, the overall prices for flower continue to decrease. The cannabis flower was the third product to experience the slowest growth after tinctures and sublinguals, which decreased by 7.5%, and topicals, which increased by 2.5%.

The buying habits of consumers have shifted in the more established markets. Marijuana retailers report that there is less attention for potency but more of the plant’s terpenes and the other minor cannabinoids. Moreover, the consumer purchases of the cannabis flower vary across the markets. According to Ethos Cannabis, a marijuana production company based in Philadelphia, the buying habits of consumers in the East Coast are influenced by the THC concentration. Ethos Cannabis VP Mike Bibbey said that potency is the primary reason that drives purchases. He said that the most popular flowers are the ones with 25% or higher THC concentrations.

As the market matures, consumers become more knowledgeable and are able to differentiate between products. According to Falcon Brands, a California-based cannabis company, mature markets attract more competition, which makes quality a decision driver. According to the company’s CEO, Steve Gutterman, high-quality flowers are not affected by the drop in prices because consumers will be willing to pay more for terpene and cannabinoid content. He predicts that high-quality flower will cost almost $2,000 a pound, which is slightly lower than in 2021.

The demand for flower with high potency is seen in Canada. According to cannabis company Cannara Biotech, flower with as high as 30% THC “fly off the shelves” with the prices falling from C$2 a gram to C$1.

Sector players such as Cannabis Strategic Ventures Inc. (OTC: NUGS) are aware of these changes in customer preferences, and the industry is seeing a burst of innovation aimed at addressing those evolving customer needs.

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Cannabis Strategic Ventures Inc. (OTC: NUGS) are available in the company’s newsroom at http://cnw.fm/NUGS

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420 with CNW — Schumer Urges Senators to Provide Input on Cannabis Legalization Bill

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is urging fellow legislators to give input on the provisions of a measure to federally legalize cannabis. In a letter addressed to fellow legislators, Schumer, Sen. Cory Booker and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden explained that the continued prohibition of cannabis at the federal level hindered the states’ ability to make their own decisions about marijuana. The letter noted that as more states moved to legalize marijuana for both medical and adult use, the federal government had a crucial role to play. They added that hundreds of millions of people in America lived in states that had legalized marijuana in some form, despite it being illegal at the federal level.

The Senate Majority Leader has faced criticism from advocates about how long it’s taken for the bill to reach this stage. However, during a recent press conference, Schumer announced that he planned to formally introduce the bill in April. The bill, called the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act, aims to ensure that the federal government matches the advancements made in various states across the United States.

The measure will allow individuals to petition for resentencing, expunge prior convictions, federally deschedule marijuana, eliminate collateral consequences for individuals who have been criminalized because of cannabis and maintain the authority of states to set their own cannabis policies. The measure will also impose a federal tax on cannabis products. Most of the revenue will be allocated to grant programs that support individuals from communities that were most affected by prohibition and who would like to take part in the flourishing industry.

In addition to this, the bill will transfer regulatory authority over marijuana to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives rather than the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

Late last year, the Senate Majority Leader highlighted that he was focused on keeping major players in other industries out of the cannabis industry in order to create opportunities for smaller operators when marijuana was federally legalized, noting that his measure would help to do just that. He also emphasized that his reform measure would take the necessary steps to ensure that big tobacco and alcohol companies didn’t overtake the industry.

When discussing the letter to his colleagues on the Senate floor last week, Schumer also emphasized the need to create opportunities for small businesses and entrepreneurs to legally pursue new opportunities, adding that the comprehensive federal marijuana bill would help actualize this goal.

The entire cannabis industry, including entities such as Red White & Bloom Brands Inc. (CSE: RWB) (OTCQX: RWBYF), will benefit once Schumer’s efforts bear fruit and marijuana policy is reformed at the federal level.

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420 with CNW — Congress Briefed on Federal Courts’ Varying Interpretations of Marijuana Clause

Lawmakers in Congress have been briefed on a report that shows the varying interpretation of a medical marijuana protection rider.

Since 2014, Congress has included provisions in appropriations acts that exclude the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) funding from being used to prevent states and jurisdictions from enforcing medical marijuana laws. The provision, which is renewed during every financial year, lists a total of 52 jurisdictions and prevents the Justice Department from taking legal actions against these territories.

A new report, released on Feb. 4, 2022, from the Congressional Research Service (“CRS”), reveals how federal courts have varyingly interpreted the provision. The report discusses in detail the appropriations rider and analyzes its interpretations by courts.

The report includes cases that have played out in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and First Circuit where defendants have brought up the rider before trial, “seeking the dismissal of their indictments,” but the courts have declined to apply it outside the context of the initial criminal prosecution. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit interpreted that the provision had no effect on a federal court’s power to restrict the use of medical marijuana as a trial case.

In a 2016 case, judges determined that marijuana-related activity was deemed illegal if the individuals did not strictly comply with all state-level marijuana regulations. As a result, their criminal prosecution would not violate the rider. Through this reasoning, the Ninth Circuit prosecuted two individuals who were smoking while processing medical marijuana cards in a legal state. In the case titled United States v. Evans, the courts found that their personal use of marijuana did not comply with the state’s regulations of being “qualifying patients” and thus continued to face prosecution.

The scope of the appropriations riders was also considered by the First Circuit Court this year in the case United States v. Bilodeau. The judges found that the defendants had violated state law regulations by supplying large quantities marijuana to people who did not qualify as patients under Maine law. The defendants were registered with the state to produce medical marijuana, but the DOJ found that it was in violation of the state’s laws through the excessive distribution, which included other states.

The DOJ urged the court to apply the Ninth Circuit’s reasoning of strict compliance after the defendants sought to invoke the appropriations rider. The court rejected the defendant’s reading stating the defendant’s activities were aimed at supplying to individuals whom the defendant had not thought through and weren’t qualified as patients under Maine’s state laws. The courts also turned down the Ninth Circuit’s reasoning. It noted that the contents of the rider did not require strict compliance with state law and a federal conviction would prevent Maine’s state law from having its intended effect.

It remains unclear whether the differences in reasoning will make a practical difference in federal prosecutions. The report concludes with considerations for Congress. One option involves Congress amending the rider to determine if strict compliance with state regulations is a requirement to stop prosecution under the federal government.

These different ways of interpreting the spending rider illustrate how much trouble multistate operators such as American Cannabis Partners have to go through to avoid running afoul of any laws, including federal ones, in the jurisdictions where they operate.

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to American Cannabis Partners are available in the company’s newsroom at https://cnw.fm/ACP

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