420 with CNW — Illinois Senate Approves Bill Blocking Police from Using Cannabis Smell as Probable Cause for Searches

Illinois Senators have voted in favor of a measure that would prevent law enforcement from using cannabis smell as a probable cause for vehicle searches. Senator Rachel Ventura sponsored the measure, which advanced in a 33-to-20 vote and is now headed to the Illinois House of Representatives for consideration.

Ventura said that her legislation was meant to protect Illinoisians from unreasonable searches at traffic stops. She noted that law enforcement tends to pull over people of color “far too often” and that the odor of cannabis shouldn’t be probable cause for these stops. Recreational cannabis is legal for both residents and nonresidents in the state, and the plant’s “pungent scent” sticks to clothing for long after initial consumption, she said.

While the measure would keep police officers from searching vehicles due to the cannabis smell, it will not make any changes to the state’s impaired driving policies, which ban driving while under the influence of cannabis.

According to a press release from Illinois Democrats, SB 125 was filed in response to a Will County case where a police officer pulled over and arrested a defendant after the officer detected “a strong odor of burnt cannabis” from the defendant’s vehicle. However, the defendant argued that they had smoked marijuana in the car “a long time ago.”

The response bill states that the odor of marijuana cannot be a probable cause to search vehicles, car operators, and passengers or individuals aged 21 years and older. The measure also eliminates a state law provision that required marijuana in cars be put in odor-proof vessels.

Illinois recreational cannabis is relatively new, launched in 2020, but it has proven lucrative already. The adult-use market generated more than $1.5 billion in sales and $446.4 million in taxes for the state government in 2022.

Still, Illinois officials acknowledge that the recreational cannabis market has a long way to go. A 2020 report from state cannabis regulators revealed that Illinois’ adult-use industry has a shocking lack of racial and gender diversity. At the time of the report’s release, there were no social-equity applicants, people with disabilities, and people of color with major ownership of licensed cannabis businesses and only one licensed business with majority female ownership.

White people comprised 88% of majority owners, 71% of minority owners, 90% of the board of directors and 80% of c-suite executives, while Latino and Black people made up less than 10% of senior positions. This move to address another vestige of the prohibition era is likely to be applauded by cannabis industry actors and other companies such as Advanced Container Technologies Inc. (OTC: ACTX) because needless arrests will decrease.

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About CNW420

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 — NBA to End Testing Players for Marijuana

Recent reports have indicated that the National Basketball Association (NBA) is striking cannabis from its list of banned drugs and ending marijuana testing for players. Athletic and Stadium reporter Shams Charania said that the NBA was removing cannabis testing as part of its new seven-year collective bargaining agreement and that the league had eliminated marijuana from its antidrug testing program.

The NBA’s stance on cannabis use among players has become more liberal in recent years. Last October, it was reported that the NBA would pause random cannabis drug tests for the third time in a row. Some insiders posited that the NBA would soon make the policy permanent, with journalist Ben Dowsett saying at the time that his sources had informed him the decision to halt cannabis screening would not be rescinded in the near future.

These speculations may have been right. In late 2020, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver indicated that the policy of scrapping cannabis tests would become permanent. This policy was initially implemented during the coronavirus pandemic when players were secluded in a quarantined bubble in Orlando to compete.

Silver said at the time that the league didn’t need to “act as Big Brother,” given the stress the players were under while competing in the quarantined bubble. Additionally, he said that society’s attitude toward cannabis had evolved and that the league would move away from mandatory blanket tests to talking to players who were exhibiting “signs of problematic dependency.”

Prior to the report of the potential ban, the National Basketball Players Association and the NBA had announced that they had worked out a “tentative agreement” on the new bargaining agreement but that the full details wouldn’t be publicized until they finalized a term sheet.

National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) Executive Director Tamika Tremaglio said in a public statement that the association’s goal is to protect players while enriching their lives both on and off the basketball court.

Cannabis use by professional athletes has been quite a sticky issue in recent months. The discussion became especially heated after American sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson was suspended from participating in the Tokyo Olympics due to a failed THC test.

Although the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) chose to keep cannabis on its banned substances list, America’s Major League Baseball (MLB) partnered with a CBD firm as its first marijuana sponsor. In 2021, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) also announced that it would stop punishing fighters who failed cannabis tests.

These changes within the sporting fraternity come amid changing attitudes at the general societal level, which have seen marijuana companies thrive alongside ancillary enterprises such as Advanced Container Technologies Inc. (OTC: ACTX) in states where the drug is legal.

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CannabisNewsBreaks – Advanced Container Technologies Inc. (ACTX) Eyes Opportunity in Burgeoning Vertical Farming Market

Advanced Container Technologies (OTC: ACTX), which is engaged in the selling and distribution of self-contained, automated, indoor “micro-farms” called Grow Pods, today announced its active participation and positioning in an industry projected by Spherical Insights to grow at a CAGR of 24.42% and reach over $27 billion by 2030. “According to EY (Ernst & Young), the world’s food system is at a tipping point. Changing consumer food preferences are fueling the shift from a commodity driven supply chain to a personalized ag ecosystem,” the announcement reads. The BBC further reports that vertical farming technology allows the growing of crops where conventional farming is not possible, resulting in shorter supply chains and the improvement in both food security and quality. “As I’ve often said, we are in the right market, with the right products, at the right time .We look forward to the future and the many business opportunities that this market will provide,” Douglas Heldoorn, CEO of ACTX, said of the rapidly growing industry.

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About Advanced Container Technologies Inc.

Advanced Container Technologies is in the business of selling and distributing self-contained, automated, indoor “micro-farms” called Grow Pods, along with related equipment and supplies. Additionally, the company designs and sells patented proprietary medical-grade plastic containers, known as the Medtainer(R), that store and grind pharmaceuticals, herbs, teas and other solids or liquids. For more information, visit the company’s website at www.AdvancedContainerTechnologies.com.

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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 — Israeli Researcher Behind THC’s Discovery Dies at Age 92

Raphael Mechoulam, an Israeli scientist whose work advanced knowledge of marijuana and the chemical elements responsible for the drug’s distinct high, has passed away. The 92-year-old Mechoulam passed away in Jerusalem last month. One of Mechoulam’s major contributions to cannabis studies was the discovery of the psychoactive component of the marijuana plant: THC. He was given the moniker “Father of Marijuana Research” for his contributions.

Asher Cohen, president of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, described Mechoulam as a charismatic and brilliant pioneer. Mechoulam was a longtime faculty member at the university.

“Prof. Mechoulam is responsible for amassing the majority of scientific and human cannabis knowledge. He laid the foundation for ground-breaking research and instigated international scientific collaboration,” said Cohen. “The academic community, as well as the university, is in mourning today.”

Mechoulam was born in Bulgaria in 1930, and then moved to Israel in 1949 where he started studying chemistry. When Mechoulam joined the cannabis research field in the 1960s, cocaine and morphine had long been isolated from coca and opium, the plants in which the elements occur naturally. But it was not the same case for cannabis, which inhibited academic research on the drug in pharmacology or chemistry labs.

As a result, in 1962, Mechoulam and his research group at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, where they were working at the time, began to concentrate on the drug just as it was about to experience a worldwide upsurge in popularity.

Throughout Mechoulam’s career, cannabis gained both popularity and notoriety as arguments over the drug’s safety grew. In 1970, the drug was classified as a controlled substance in the United States.

Mechoulam worked to synthesize and isolate other elements found in the cannabis plant as well as demonstrate its potential for use in medicine, including the treatment of autoimmune disorders and epilepsy. His work contributed to demonstrating that, despite the debate surrounding its use in the latter half of the 20th century, people have been using marijuana for hundreds of years. For example, he and his group conducted research on the ashes of a young woman who had passed away giving birth in a fourth-century Roman tomb, and they then published their findings in the “Nature” journal in 1993.

“They undoubtedly gave her something to numb the pain or treat the apparent hemorrhage that she was experiencing. We suspected it might be marijuana,” he said in an interview with NPR that year. His suspicions turned out to be accurate, and an analysis produced the first physical proof of cannabis use in the historic Middle East.

The death of this pioneering scientist has robbed the world of a brilliant thinker upon whose work present-day marijuana companies and even ancillary ones such as Advanced Container Technologies Inc. (OTC: ACTX) are benefiting directly or indirectly.

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420 with CNW — Congressional Review OKs DC-Proposed Reforms to Medical Cannabis Program

Washington, DC’s medical marijuana program will undergo a few changes in the coming months after a Congressional Review resulted in the approval of an amendment measure. The bill includes further social equity provisions, gets rid of cannabis business licensing caps and allows cannabis operators to obtain tax relief.

In addition, the bill will create new business categories in the state’s cannabis program, such as marijuana cooking classes and onsite marijuana consumption facilities. The measure also will allow sellers of nonmarijuana products in exchange for free cannabis items to enter the legal market and allow state officials to crack down on “gifting” operators that keep selling illegally.

The legislation was introduced by DC Council chair Phil Mendelson last year and was unanimously passed by the council in December before heading to the mayor’s desk where it was signed in January. Titled the Medical Cannabis Amendment Act, the measure would allow adults to certify themselves as medical marijuana patients.

This self-certification provision is quite crucial after congressional legislators approved an appropriations package containing a rider that prevents Washington, DC, from launching a regulated recreational cannabis industry. The controversial rider wasn’t included in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), and stakeholders were hoping that it would also be excluded from the congressional bill.

Fortunately, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) ruled in 2022 that officials in Washington could begin taking preliminary legislative steps in preparation for eventual cannabis reform. Officials had drafted and introduced a bill to legalize recreational cannabis when Representative Andy Harris, who has regularly sponsored the anti-cannabis rider, sent a complaint to the GAO.

The Medical Cannabis Amendment Act extends the number of days unlicensed businesses have to apply for licenses from 60 to 90 days and also allows the businesses to seek cultivation center licenses. It will also launch a process to allow applicants to make appeals for rejected license applications.

However, one of the most significant amendments introduced by the measure is giving cannabis operators the chance to deduct taxes that the Internal Revenue Service prevents them from deducting through code 280E. Since cannabis is still illegal at the federal level, state-legal cannabis businesses cannot access a plethora of financial services including tax deductions, federal aid, and banking services.

The bill codified a permanent self-certification policy that would make it possible for adults aged 21 and older to become certified medical cannabis patients without a doctor’s recommendation. It also sets aside 50% of all cultivation center, courier, manufacturer, internet retailer and retailer licenses to cannabis social equity applicants.

As the medical cannabis program is expanded, a number of opportunities will be created for companies such as Advanced Container Technologies Inc. (OTC: ACTX) that serve the marijuana industry.

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420 with CNW — SD Governor Vetoes Proposed Law to Raise Hemp THC Cap

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem has vetoed a bill that sought to increase THC levels in industrial hemp and its derivatives. Industrial hemp was legalized in 2018 after Congress approved the Farm Bill and allowed farmers across the country to cultivate, process and sell industrial hemp with less than 0.3% THC in state and tribal programs.

THC (delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol) is the main chemical agent in marijuana, and it produces the plant’s infamous psychoactive effects. But while marijuana contains high enough levels of THC that the chemical can cause mind-bending effects, industrial hemp has very little THC and no psychoactive effects.

Retailers across the country can now carry and sell hemp products as long as they contain less than 0.3% THC. According to Governor Noem, the bill to increase THC limits in industrial hemp would “jeopardize the effectiveness and safety” of South Dakota’s industrial hemp sector. She said that the measure would conflict with federal law that sets THC levels in hemp to below 0.3% while making it impossible for marijuana products, which usually contain well over 0.3% THC, to be classified as hemp products.

The governor said in a public statement that passing bill HB 1209 would go against the “clearly expressed will of the people,” referring to state residents who rejected a recreational cannabis measure in the 2022 ballot. Bill HB 1209 was sponsored by Representative Oren Lesmeister and would have increased THC limits in industrial hemp to 5%. However, Governor Noem noted that doing so would undermine the state’s enforcement of drug laws and jeopardize its hemp program.

South Dakota currently allows for THC levels of up to 1% for hemp plants that are currently in the processing stage. Bill sponsor Lesmeister said that while these high levels are temporary, they are inevitable during processing when highly concentrated oils and cannabinoids are being extracted from the plant matter. He added that as hemp product processors aren’t regulated by the federal market, states with hemp programs often overlook higher-than-0.3 % THC concentrations during processing.

His measure would make it so that THC levels of up to 5% were allowed during processing, similar to regulations in New York and Colorado. Lesmeister explained that the current 1% upper limit was a compromise, but that processors regularly exceed 1% THC levels in processing before THC levels drop to below 0.3% THC once the final product is complete.

This spike prevents licensed processors from accessing crop insurance and similar safety nets that are accessible to other crop markets.

Until the disconnect between marijuana policies at the federal level are updated to be in sync with the reality at state level, many budding entities such as Advanced Container Technologies Inc. (OTC: ACTX) may walk a tightrope trying to serve companies within jurisdictions where marijuana is permitted for either therapeutic or recreational use.

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420 with CNW — Maryland Follows Growing Nationwide Trend, Opens First Marijuana Consumption Lounge

Maryland has officially joined a small but growing group of U.S. states with operational marijuana consumption lounges. Launched in Burtonsville, Ceylon House is the first marijuana consumption lounge in Maryland that allows adults to gather and smoke cannabis outside of their homes.

The facility will only serve medical marijuana patients for the moment, and staff will check customer licenses at the door before letting them in. At the moment, Ceylon House currently operates in a sort of grey area because Maryland law hasn’t legalized consumption lounges, but it hasn’t outlawed them either.

One of the most contentious issues in the nascent marijuana cannabis has been the issue of public consumption. While dozens of states now have recreational and medical cannabis programs, consuming the drug in public is strictly forbidden in all states, and people are required to consume cannabis in private residences. However, this locks out a large portion of customers known as “cannabis tourists” who travel from states that may not have legal cannabis markets to states that allow recreational cannabis use.

Public consumption lounges were presented as a solution to this issue because they would provide customers with a semipublic place to consume cannabis without exposing passers-by to secondhand smoke.

Customers pay $25 to get into Ceylon House and smoke medical marijuana. Owner Venushki “Venus” Hemachandra notes that the county has put plenty of restrictions on the consumption lounge, such as requirements for air quality. The establishment also isn’t allowed to sell drinks, food or cannabis, but it can rent and sell bongs and other cannabis-related paraphernalia to customers.

Adults in Maryland recently voted in favor of a measure to legalize recreational cannabis, and the state has had a medical marijuana market for close to a decade now. The state is also currently working on policies and rules for a new recreational marijuana program, and we can expect the restrictions on who can use marijuana consumption lounges to loosen over time.

The cannabis measure circulating in the state legislature would allow for the establishment of 15 cannabis-consumption cafes in Maryland. Maryland joins a group of six states that have legalized marijuana consumption lounges for either medical or recreational cannabis users.

Colorado, which is home to one of the largest cannabis markets in the country and attracts plenty of cannabis tourists per year, was among the first states to allow consumption cafes to give cannabis tourists a place to consume cannabis products.

The growing trend of consumption lounges could boost cannabis sales, and that in turn may increase the demand for various products and cultivation equipment such as those made by Advanced Container Technologies Inc. (OTC: ACTX) in a bid to meet the thriving customer base.

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420 with CNW — How Technology Companies Help Cannabis Retailers Access Payment Solutions

Cannabis retail is booming in the United States, and by 2024, it’s predicted that sales will reach an estimate $31.8 billion. This massive growth is partly driven by cannatech businesses that take the lead on technological advancements. One such company is Treez, which enables in-person and online sales while providing dispensaries with a variety of digital payment options that boost customer satisfaction and sales.

The Safe Banking Bill and federal legalization of cannabis are both making little progress in Congress, despite state-level legalization being on the rise. Since banks and most credit card companies are reluctant to be involved with cannabis businesses due to the uncertainty surrounding federal marijuana legalization, many of them are forced to work as cash-only operations.

Cannatech businesses have seemingly stepped up to fill the gap left by the lack of significant financial providers in the marijuana industry. However, many dispensaries are still unfamiliar with the numerous alternatives to cash payments because they are content with the status quo, lack information or are constrained by their own antiquated systems.

A business faces many difficulties when it is a cash-only operation in terms of security, effectiveness, convenience and flexible channels of sale. By integrating payment technologies into their operations, dispensaries can lower cash payments by up to 30%, reducing the financial risks of theft and creating more time for employee-customer interaction.

Payment technologies not only enable more effective and safer transactions but also ease of operation and convenience, both of which have the potential to boost sales and, in some instances, double the average sale value. Cashless transactions make online ordering easier, which results in higher sales.

The most popular types of cash substitute payments available today are debit cards, cashless ATM transactions and ACH direct deposits.

Recently, however, ATM transactions faced outages because of the operation on the gap that allowed dispensaries to process transactions by mistaking ATM withdrawals as originating from a nearby location.

The crackdown prompted retailers to look into alternatives such as those provided by TreezPay, the first marijuana payment-processing solution to provide several digital payment options. According to the company, TreezPay’s cashless transaction options enable retailers to increase their monthly sales by more than 25%.

Treez obtained Swifter in 2022, an API transaction platform designed to deliver the particular requirements of the marijuana industry, in a bid to continue providing payment solutions. Swifter improves digital transactions by offering integrated, partner-powered services that increase stability, transparency and processing rates.

The API platform concentrates on integrating with as many other cutting-edge solutions as possible, such as mobile QR and cryptocurrency, while also providing a wide range of cannabis-focused solutions. This gives each dispensary the freedom to explore its options and create the software environment best suited to its requirements.

Ultimately, the industry isn’t expecting any financial-related legislation to support it anytime soon, according to cannatech companies. Thus, tech companies are proactively supplying sophisticated payment solutions that aid dispensaries in acquiring more clients, boosting sales, delivering superior customer service and managing significantly less cash.

As these payment-processing alternatives become widespread within the cannabis industry, it could have a beneficial ripple effect that may see ancillary enterprises such as Advanced Container Technologies Inc. (OTC: ACTX) gain additional traction as demand for marijuana products increases and subsequently supply ramps up in different markets.

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420 with CNW — Why It’s Still Hard for Medicare to Cover Medical Cannabis

Even though many seniors use medical cannabis to treat a range of conditions, experts say it may take some time before Medicare begins to pay for the drug because of conflicting legal requirements, ambiguous safety standards and challenging rulemaking procedures. According to a survey conducted last year by the Medicare Plans Resource Center, an association that offers advice and information on Medicare, one in every five Medicare patients uses medical cannabis.

Furthermore, almost 25% have previously used it, and two-thirds of Medicare beneficiaries believe that the program ought to cover it. However, Medicare doesn’t, since medical cannabis is not legal in all states and has not received FDA approval. According to a study that was published in the Cannabinoid and Cannabis Research journal in April last year, 60% of patients who purchased medical cannabis were 50 years of age or older.

Patients often pay up to $20 per gram for cannabis plant buds and $5 per dose for edibles. This amounts to about $567 and $142 per ounce, respectively, a price most patients, even in states where medical cannabis is legal, cannot afford.

Why, then, does Medicare still not cover medical marijuana?

Medicare coverage for medical marijuana is obstructed by two major problems. For starters, the DEA classifies cannabis as a Schedule I drug, meaning it has a high potential for abuse and no currently accepted medical use.

Second, for a drug to be covered by Medicare, it must receive FDA clearance for both safety and efficacy. The FDA has authorized the sale of one marijuana-derived product and three synthetic marijuana-related products for prescription use, but it has not authorized the marketing of marijuana for medical use. Considering that medical marijuana is legal in 37 states, could private insurers that provide Medicare Advantage cover it?

That’s unlikely, according to Marijuana Moment senior editor and reporter Kyle Jaeger. Most health insurers will refuse to cover marijuana as long as it is still classified as a schedule I drug, similar to banking institutions that have been hesitant to provide financial services to cannabis businesses.

Additionally, private insurers look to the FDA for directions on which medications to cover. Insurers need data to show that cannabis-based treatments have outcomes that are comparable to, if not superior to, those of the currently available options that they cover. However, this is made difficult due to the open-market dispensary system, where patients are allowed to purchase any product.

The system will need to be altered for it to be effective; patients cannot simply buy anything they want and expect insurance companies to cover it.

The contradictions between state cannabis laws and regulations at the federal level are in some way holding back the growth of the cannabis industry together with the affiliated industries that support the marijuana industry. For example, one can only guess at what the growth trajectory of entities such as Advanced Container Technologies Inc. (OTC: ACTX) would have been had marijuana been legal federally.

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420 with CNW — Studies Link Cannabis Legalization to Various Public Health Benefits

With medical marijuana legalized in 36 states and recreationally approved in 18, worries about the effects of widespread societal access to cannabis have become the driving force behind a majority of scientific research. A large portion of that scientific research has now been compiled in a meta-analysis of 36 papers released between 2013 and 2021. These studies show how legalizing cannabis has had a positive impact on society in significant ways.

Researchers who studied the societal effects of legalizing marijuana discovered that it reduced rates of teen cannabis use, binge drinking, suicide and traffic fatalities.

One main concern has come from conservative politicians and parents who believe that legalizing would result in a rise in teen marijuana use. This criticism perfectly illustrates the idea advanced by author Jonathan Haidt in his seminal book, “The Righteous Mind.” According to the book, most people form their opinions by first coming to an emotional conclusion, such as teenage cannabis use is bad, and then working backward through ad hoc justification to find whatever intuitive reasoning is required to support their instinct.

It would seem reasonable to assume that cannabis use would increase if it were legal, but this isn’t the case. In actuality, the landmark paper revealed that teenagers’ access to marijuana declined by 8% while teenage use decreased by 9% due to legalization. The cause was thought to be that fewer teenagers were able to access the substance once dispensaries replaced drug dealers; the legal requirement to check a buyer’s ID when purchasing cannabis also likely impacted the numbers.

In another study, it was discovered that legalizing cannabis had a negative impact on opioid overdose deaths from 1999 to 2010, but the effect diminished once the years 2011 to 2017 were taken into account. This was thought to be an indication of how the opioid epidemic has evolved, based on the idea that cannabis and prescription painkillers might be substitutes for opioids, but heroin and cannabis are not.

However, this isn’t the only study to establish a link between the legalization of cannabis and a decline in opioid overdoses. Two additional studies found the same thing, with the second finding a drop from 21% to 16% in 2019 and 2020.

Another study found that legalizing cannabis discourages and reduces the use of alcohol, particularly binge drinking. The decline in alcohol consumption may have also significantly reduced the number of road accidents.

Last but not least, marijuana legalization was also associated with lower rates of male suicide across the nation, with an 11% decrease in those 20 to 29 years of age and a 9% decrease in those 30 to 39 years of age.

As all these benefits are being documented, a strong ancillary industry made up of entities such as Advanced Container Technologies Inc. (OTC: ACTX) is thriving due to the market they have carved out for themselves among marijuana industry actors.

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Advanced Container Technologies Inc. (OTC: ACTX) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://cnw.fm/ACTX

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