420 with CNW – Canadian Marijuana Producer Uses Fish in a Unique Way

As the cannabis industry matures, a number of innovations have been introduced in order to optimize marijuana grow operations. A Canadian producer is using fish to reduce how much water the marijuana grow uses while getting a better yield compared to conventional growing methods.

Green Relief Inc., based in Ontario, is using underground aquaponics to grow cannabis and raise freshwater fish as well. This one-of-a-kind method has enabled the cannabis producer to reduce their water consumption by up to 90 percent while increasing marijuana harvests by 20 percent.

In this cutting-edge system, the cannabis plants clean the water in which the fish live and grow while the fish provide wastes that are filtered to provide fertilizers for the cannabis plants. Consequently, the grow operation doesn’t use any artificial fertilizers or pesticides to produce cannabis for the market.

The company revealed that it opted for this sustainable way of growing cannabis and raising fish because any business that isn’t eco-friendly will soon be pushed out of the market since it will be regarded as a dinosaur. The only sign that one can see of this Ontario grow facility is its ventilation equipment sticking out of the hillside. Everything else is underground.

The closed-loop system used by Green Relief raises 6,000 fish (tilapia) and grows 4,500 marijuana plants. Every month or so, the company harvests the fish in one of its 16 fish tanks. 300 fully-grown tilapia from each harvest is donated to a charity that runs a soup kitchen for the homeless.

Green Relief is currently constructing other grow facilities in Hamilton, Halifax and Thunder Bay. The company plans to list on the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) in order to raise funds to take their production to higher levels. Green Relief also wants to list on Nasdaq soon. The Green Relief IPO in Canada will take place within a few months.

While the company is looking to strengthen its position locally, it is also taking steps to nurture an international presence to take advantage of the position of Canada as a global leader in the cannabis industry.

Warren Bravo, the company’s director of business development, is finalizing arrangements to acquire properties in Australia and Italy. He is also hammering out joint venture deals with two major laboratories in Switzerland.

Earth Science Tech, Inc. (OTCQB: ETST), FinCanna Capital Corp. (CSE: CALI) (OTCQB: FNNZF) and the entire cannabis industry take their hats off to Green Relief for championing sustainable cannabis cultivation, as well as giving back to the community.

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420 with CNW – Cannabis should be Reclassified Internationally, Says World Health Organization Committee

According to a leaked letter written by the World Health Organization’s Director General (Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus) to the UN Secretary-General, marijuana should be rescheduled from the most restrictive categories to less strict categories in all international treaties.

The recommendations in this letter were scheduled to be released publicly last year in December but this didn’t happen for unknown reasons.

According to the recommendations of the expert committee that studied the matter, whole-plant marijuana and marijuana resin should be removed from schedule IV (the most restrictive category) and left in schedule I.

The World health Organization also wants to be categorical and state that any cannabis products that contain less than 0.2 percent THC content aren’t subjected to any international controls. Previously, CBD didn’t appear anywhere in the international treaties that categorize different substances, so it was unclear what the position of the international body was on this substance. The letter now puts this matter to rest.

These recommendations will go to the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs where 53 nations will cast a vote either to adopt the recommendations or reject them. Several countries, such as China and Russia, are expected to vote against the recommendations due to those countries’ history of being unwilling to see reforms in drugs laws.

However, other countries, such as Uruguay and Canada are certainly going to vote for reclassification, as will other European and South American countries where medical cannabis is legal.

It is harder to predict which way the U.S. vote will go. President Trump is quoted to have said that his administration respects the right of U.S. states to enact and implement their own marijuana laws, but the federal government has been reluctant to reform its own cannabis laws. One will therefore just have to wait and see how the U.S. representative at the UN votes when these recommendations are tabled.

While the recommendations contained in that WHO letter will not create any major legal shockwaves, they do have potentially serious political implications.

For starters, the rescheduling recommendations are a tacit admission that the UN and other world bodies made a grave error to classify marijuana as a substance that has no medicinal value. This decision seems to have been based on political considerations rather than being rooted in scientific data.

Secondly, the recommendations will embolden many countries to pass their own marijuana laws, as has been the case in the dozens of countries around the world that have legalized medical cannabis despite the current classification of marijuana as a substance with no known medical value.

Cannabis Strategic Ventures, Inc. (OTC: NUGS), Canopy Rivers Inc. (TSX.V: RIV) (OTC: CNPOF) and the cannabis industry in its entirety are waiting with bated breath to see how events will unfold worldwide once the recommendations of the UN are passed.

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420 with CNW – Four Things You May Not Know about Cannabis Jobs in the US

Your mind may immediately go to the rate at which different states are legalizing marijuana when the cannabis industry in the U.S. is mentioned. However, there is so much that many people don’t know about the job market in the U.S. cannabis industry. Here are four facts you most likely didn’t know about employment in the cannabis industry in the U.S.

Hiring Has Increased By 76 Percent

According to a study conducted by Glassdoor, the number of available jobs in the cannabis industry in the U.S. has increased by 76 percent when compared to the number of jobs that were available in 2017. Additionally, the second half of the year saw the biggest jump in the number of cannabis jobs advertised throughout the country.

Cannabis Jobs Have Attractive Salaries

Contrary to what many people may think, jobs in the cannabis industry don’t pay minimum wage. The Glassdoor research revealed that the average base salary for the jobs advertised in the cannabis industry was $58,511 a year. That figure may not be glamorous on its own, but it takes on greater significance when you realize that the median base salary across the U.S. in general is approximately 11 percent lower than the median base salary of the cannabis industry jobs advertised. In fact, slightly more than 30 percent of the cannabis industry jobs advertised paid more than $70,000 as base salary. In short, the cannabis industry may be among the best-paying industries in the country!

Many of the Top Employment Destinations Aren’t Where Recreational Cannabis is Legal

One may be tempted to think that the greatest number of jobs are to be found in locations where recreational cannabis was legalized. This is only partially true because the Glassdoor data shows that cities in California ranked highest among the top destinations for marijuana industry jobs.

However, cities in states where only medical marijuana is legal also pulled their weight as top cannabis employment destinations. For example, New York City was fourth on the list of the top 15 cannabis employment destinations while Chicago was seventh on that list.

Most of the Top Employers Are Traded Publicly

It is possible for casual observers to imagine that only Canadian cannabis companies are publicly traded. However, while the Canadian companies get the lion’s share of publicity, American marijuana companies are also traded on different stock exchanges. For example, Green Thumb Industries is traded on Nasdaq and it was the top employer in the cannabis industry. Others are MedMen Enterprises and Truelive.

While the findings of the study were only based on the jobs advertised on Glassdoor, the general idea is that the cannabis industry is growing fast since employers can only take on new hires once those employers are sure of sustainable growth to justify the cost of additional employees. The Glassdoor research is therefore good news to the marijuana industry, including Youngevity International, Inc. (NASDAQ: YGYI) and VIVO Cannabis Inc. (TSX.V: VIVO) (OTCQX: VVCIF).

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420 with CNW – Does the Tobacco Industry See its Future in Marijuana?

Tobacco cigarette sales have been on the decline in the U.S. for several decades now, and it seems the tobacco industry now sees its future in marijuana.

The major tobacco firms have been watching the cannabis industry as it evolves and they now think that having a part of this nascent industry holds the key to the tobacco industry’s future. The Big tobacco companies have several factors that favor their entry into the cannabis industry.

First, the tobacco industry has a well-known record of manufacturing products in a way that maximizes their addictive potential. You can therefore bet your last dollar that big tobacco will tap into this “heritage” to make marijuana products that will get their users hooked for life. Addiction is good for business because it assures you of repeat customers for decades to come.

Secondly, the tobacco industry has an extensive marketing network across the globe. This capability means that it will not be hard for the companies to get marijuana anywhere buyers or potential buyers may be. As you may know, several states, such as California, are already struggling with surplus supplies of cannabis. The marketing muscle of tobacco companies can fix that problem on a large scale.

Thirdly, tobacco firms have a long tradition of lobbying and navigating their way around tough legislative and regulatory scrutiny. This experience can be an invaluable resource to the cannabis industry that is struggling to shake off the association of marijuana with junkies and criminal gangs. Who knows, the lobbying resources of the tobacco industry can even make the federal government to move faster towards ending marijuana prohibition!

However, the tobacco industry does have some baggage that may make the cannabis industry jittery about jumping into bed with “big tobacco”.

For example, the tobacco industry didn’t win a lot of friends when it was discovered that the industry deliberately misled the public about the health and safety issues of cigarette smoking. Actually, the big players even used taxpayer money to find ways to make smokers addicted sooner!

Additionally, there’s agreement among experts that cigarettes are a product that will kill half of the people who use it as it was intended to be used. Cannabis industry players are a little uneasy about associating with an industry that has such a reputation.

That notwithstanding, a number of deals have already been struck between tobacco companies and players in the cannabis industry. One of the largest is one between Altria and Cronos Group worth $1.8 billion.

The cannabis industry, including TransCanna Holdings Inc. (CSE: TCAN) (FSE: TH8) and Therma Bright, Inc. (TSX.V: THRM) (OTC: THRBF), hopes that the tobacco industry doesn’t soil the reputation of cannabis as big tobacco jumps on the cannabis bandwagon.

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420 with CNW – Baltimore to Stop Prosecuting People for Marijuana Possession

The chief prosecutor in the city of Baltimore has announced that people will no longer be prosecuted for possessing marijuana. This announcement comes as a wave legalization is sweeping across the nation, and marijuana is no longer seen as the evil substance that it once was thought to be.

Marilyn Mosby, state attorney for Baltimore, revealed that her office will immediately stop prosecuting cases of marijuana possession. This decision will apply regardless of how much marijuana someone has been found with, or what the criminal history of that person is.

Mosby added that no serious person can ever claim that devoting the city’s scarce law enforcement resources to prosecuting marijuana possession cases is a good way to use taxpayers’ money.

Baltimore has the unenviable record of being the major city across the country with the highest homicide rates, with most of those homicides going unsolved. Mosby wants to focus a lot more on solving those violent crimes instead of being bogged down by marijuana possession cases.

The chief prosecutor admitted that the city’s law enforcement agencies take a huge hit in terms of their public image each time murders go unsolved and yet they are seen vigilantly going after people possessing marijuana.

She gave the example of what a mother whose son has just died because of gun violence. Such a mother cannot condone the allocation of resources to prosecuting marijuana possession cases instead of using those very resources to investigate and bring violent crime down.

However, there may be a showdown brewing between the city prosecutor and the men and women of the police department over this change in policy. Gary Tuggle, the Police Commissioner of Baltimore, insisted that his department will continue making marijuana possession arrests until the legislature changes the law about the matter.

This potential standoff is a tricky one to resolve because each side may have valid arguments to support it. For example, the prosecutor sees that it doesn’t make sense to keep fighting something that is hardly harmful to the public, while the police is doing its work of enforcing the laws as passed by the legislature.

The question is, what will happen once suspects are arrested by the police and the prosecutor refuses to sanction any charges against those individuals?

The best way out is for these two sister departments to find a middle ground on this issue so that ordinary people aren’t caught in the crosshairs as the elephants fight. Such a stalemate isn’t in the best interest of the marijuana industry, especially The Green Organic Dutchman (TSX: TGOD) (OTCQX: TGODF) and The Flowr Corporation (TSX.V: FLWR) (OTC: FLWPF).

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420 with CNW – Minnesota Legislators Introduce Marijuana Legalization Bill

Three legislators in Minnesota have introduced a bill that is intended to legalize recreational marijuana for adults in the state. Two senators (Scott Jensen and Melisa Franzen) and House Rep. Mike Freiberg are the brains behind this bill that was introduced on Monday this week.

The bill seeks to allow adults over 21 years of age to possess, grow and consume cannabis within the state. The state would also set up mechanisms through which the industry can be regulated in order to ensure that all activities conform to set standards during the cultivation, processing and marketing of marijuana. Special attention would also be devoted to preventing teens from accessing cannabis.

Frieberg released a statement in which he said that the prohibitionist laws of Minnesota were outdated and caused more problems rather than fixing the problem of drug abuse. He added that creating a regulated market would get rid of the criminals currently selling the drug and regulated sales would also bring revenue to the state while reducing the potential harm of marijuana to consumers.

Rep. Frieberg also said that it was time to start having a debate on marijuana in the state in order to come up with an appropriate model that will end cannabis prohibition.

In the bill, the Department of Health would be responsible for regulating cannabis dispensaries in the state. The department would also make sure that cannabis regulators establish a system that oversees the entire cannabis value chain from the time a seed is planted to the time the finished product is sold.

The bill will also allow the state to expunge certain cannabis arrests from the criminal records of those who qualify for such a reprieve. Under the bill, approximately $10 million from the cannabis tax revenue will be spent n the impoverished communities that have been affected the most by the prohibitionist laws. Millions of dollars would also be directed towards mental health programs each year in addition to funding education campaigns on drug use by teens.

The Marijuana Policy Project estimates that Minnesota can earn about $200 million to $300 million from marijuana taxes each year.

Currently, 10 states and Washington D.C. have legalized recreational marijuana while 33 states have legalized medical marijuana. Minnesota therefore will have a large pool from which to draw experiences when finalizing its marijuana law.

However, it may be a while before a final law is passed since the Senate’s Majority Leader (Paul Gazelka) said that the most that can happen during this legislative session is to have an informational hearing.

All the same, cannabis industry players like Supreme Cannabis Company Inc. (TSX.V: FIRE) (OTCQX: SPWRF) and Sunniva Inc. (CSE: SNN) (OTCQB: SNNVF) hope that the discussions will be objective and culminate in a decision that is in the best interest of Minnesotans.

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420 with CNW – Another Cannabis Lounge Set to Open in Denver

Vape and Play, a social club that will allow patrons to consume marijuana in its premises, is due to open on February 18 in Denver. This will be the second lounge in the city where one can consume marijuana.

Such businesses are geared at addressing one of the biggest challenges that has existed since recreational cannabis was legalized in Colorado: where can one consume cannabis after buying it?

These businesses want to give cannabis users a place that is a little more than a smoke-filled room from which to consume their cannabis. In fact, Vape and Play aims to provide a venue that is “better than your living room.”

Megan Lumpkins, the Chief Operating Officer of Vape and Play, says that it was hard to come up with a business model for their establishment since such places don’t usually sell marijuana, yet they can’t just say “we have a seat where you can come and use the cannabis you just bought.”

Vape and Play has decided to adopt the model of an event venue where cannabis consumers will be charged an entry fee for two or so hours during which they can enjoy a comedy show or attend a fitness class while consuming their cannabis.

Such an approach may give their target market a valid reason to visit the venue since clients will be able to socialize as they use cannabis.

Lumpkins added that she hopes that other marijuana lounges or venues will open so that Denver can become a cannabis tourism destination where visitors can have a variety of experiences to enjoy while in the city.

The only other consumption lounge in the city is The Coffee Joint which was opened in March last year. The difference with this lounge is that the owners have a cannabis dispensary right next to it, so clients can buy their marijuana and then head to the consumption lounge.

It hasn’t been an easy ride to securing a license to open Vape and Play. The proprietors have had to jump through numerous hoops for over two years before they finally got approval for the business. This challenge could explain why this type of business hasn’t grown in the area despite the decision of voters in 2016 to permit consumption lounges.

Vape and Play plans to give visitors wristbands of different colors based on how much experience each visitor has with consuming cannabis.

For example, a seasoned user will be given a black wristband after completing a survey at the entrance. A “vape tender” will look at the armband of each guest and tweak the temperature setting of one of the custom vaporizers at the venue in order to allow that visitor to vape cannabis whose strength is equal to his or her experience level (a higher temperature setting gives a higher THC concentration in the vapor, for example).

The innovations brought by Vape and Play are welcome news to the entire cannabis industry, including Sugarmade Inc. (OTCQB: SGMD) and Sproutly Canada Inc. (OTCQB: SRUTF) (CSE: SPR) (FRA: 38G), since such innovations contribute to the growth of cannabis culture.

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420 with CNW – Why Suppositories will be Big in the Medical Marijuana Industry

Many people may feel rather squeamish about sticking a cannabis suppository up their backside, but this method of administration is beginning to attract widespread attention as a way to administer medical cannabis. Several reasons can explain their growing popularity.

Better Absorption Rates

The most common ways to take medical cannabis are by eating or smoking the substance. However, these two methods of administration don’t allow enough of the cannabis consumed to be absorbed into the bloodstream.

For example, the acidic environment inside the stomach and the entire gastrointestinal tract destroys most of the therapeutic ingredients in cannabis before those compounds have a chance to enter the bloodstream and do their work.

Smoking also comes with its own risks of damage to the lining of the lungs, among other dangers. Furthermore, not enough cannabis can be absorbed through the lungs since some is exhaled along with the air one breathes.

However, the lining of the rectum provides an excellent medium through which cannabis can be absorbed into the bloodstream. Consequently, a patient will not need to use a large dose in order to get the desired effects.

It’s Ideal for Seriously Ill People

Some patients, such as cancer patients, are in such a bad state that it is nearly impossible for them to smoke or consume cannabis edibles. How can such people get medical cannabis into their bloodstream?

Cannabis suppositories are an excellent option in such situations. Remember, all lists of conditions for which one can access medical cannabis include chronic or debilitating illnesses. No wonder doctors are increasingly recommending that patients use marijuana suppositories.

They Have a Track Record

Suppositories aren’t a new invention. They have been used in conventional medicine for decades. These items are therefore getting a new lease of life by being used in the medical cannabis industry.

Additionally, it is possible to standardize the dosing of cannabis products if patients are going to use suppositories. This is much better than telling someone to smoke “a thick wad of cannabis when the tremors start.”

Such standardization can go a long way in removing the stigma that has sometimes been directed at cannabis as something for reckless people who have nothing to do except getting high.

Less THC Is Absorbed in This Way

Another key advantage of cannabis suppositories is that they are likely to silence the critics who say that patients are using medical cannabis in order to get high.

Research has it that THC (the psychoactive element in cannabis) isn’t as readily absorbed into the bloodstream through the rectum, unlike CBD that is readily absorbed. Thus, there is a lower risk that patients will get addicted to cannabis while taking it anally.

As you can see, cannabis suppositories seem poised to stake their claim in the medical cannabis sector. The cannabis industry, including SinglePoint Inc. (OTCQB: SING) and Redfund Capital Corp. (CSE: LOAN) (OTC: PNNRF) (Frankfurt: O3X4), welcomes all avenues through which patients can get relief from their conditions.

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420 with CNW – UC Berkley Launches Cannabis Research Center

The University of California at Berkley has announced that it has opened a cannabis research center that will study the effects of cannabis production upon society and the environment. This announcement was made on Tuesday this week (January 29).

UC officials also revealed that the research center will primarily focus on three major areas.

The first is cannabis regulation and policy. Cannabis regulations and policies have been evolving rapidly and they merit research in order to ascertain whether those policies and regulations have made the industry better, whether the policymakers had sufficient information upon which they based when drafting the regulations and policies, etc.

The research center will also study how cannabis production affects the environment. For example, what effects do cannabis plants have on groundwater? Is it better (for the environment) to grow cannabis in indoor facilities or outdoor grows are better? How can the adverse environmental impacts (if any) of cannabis production be mitigated? Such, and other issues will occupy the researchers who will devote their time and resources to looking into the environmental effects of cannabis production.

The third major area of research will be the impact of cannabis production on society. Already, some lawsuits have been filed against cannabis grow facilities in some neighborhoods while some local authorities have enacted ordinances that ban any marijuana-related activities in their jurisdictions. At the same time, many communities are clamoring to have cannabis production facilities in their areas in order to reap the economic benefits that such developments bring. So, the responses to cannabis production span the entire gamut of what anyone can imagine as a potential reaction to this controversial plant. The researchers will look into all these societal effects and provide scientific data to inform the decision-making process.

Ted Grantham and Van Butsic, both faculty members in UC Berkley’s Department of Policy and Management, and Environmental Sciences will head the interdisciplinary team at the research center.

The direction taken by the research center at UC Berkley is unique because so far, other researchers have devoted their resources to studying how cannabis affects people (the positive and negative) at the level of an individual. Grantham and his team want to broaden the lens and look at the bigger picture. This approach is a welcome development for the cannabis industry, including Plus Products Inc. (CSE: PLUS) (OTCQB: PLPRF) and Phivida Holdings Inc. (CSE: VIDA) (OTCQX: PHVAF), because it will provide deeper insights into the broader aspects of the industry.

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420 with CNW – Craft Medical Cannabis Growers Form Co-op in British Columbia

Small medical cannabis growers and producers in the Canadian province of British Columbia are coming together to form a co-op in order to bridge the supply gap. This co-op venture will be incorporated at the provincial level instead of seeking national incorporation.

This undertaking involves a partnership with Victory Square Technologies and Grow Tech Labs. The supply shortages that have plagued the Canadian recreational cannabis market prompted the initiators of this co-op to take action.

The company will be called the British Columbia Small Cannabis Producer and Processor Co-op. This is intended to reflect the character of the province as a leader in the cannabis industry both nationally and internationally.

Barinder Rasode, the CEO of this new company, revealed during its launch that the entire province and the cannabis industry will benefit greatly if small producers and processors come together to continue making a contribution in the industry.

Rasode added that once these small players combine their capacity, they have the potential to become a formidable player in the cannabis industry not just in Canada but globally.

The new company is calling on small producers to send them an email expressing interest to join this new group and to get additional information about this new entity.

The co-founder and CEO of Victory Square Technologies (Shafin Diamond) remarked that he was excited to see that micro-growers of medical cannabis were coming forward to take part in the co-operative.

It is not clear whether the desire to combine forces wasn’t driven by a survival instinct. As the cannabis industry has grown, large scale operations have increasingly taken an upper hand due to their economies of scale that lower the cost of producing each unit of cannabis.

While production costs are being driven downwards, the cannabis market hasn’t sufficiently segmented (as yet) in order to sustain the niche growers and producers. Consequently, the small growers and producers may have felt some pressure on their profit margins as the large producers brought more products to the market at lower rates.

This pressure could be the reason why the initiators of the co-op decided that they should either combine forces or fold. Such a factor may explain why Grow Tech Labs and Victory Square Technologies were brought on board to provide a way to standardize the products from the small growers and producers.

If that is the case, then that is a positive step forward since the entire industry, including Net Element (NASDAQ: NETE) and Medical Cannabis Payment Solutions (OTC: REFG), would want every entity that can chip in to do so in order to nurture this nascent industry.

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