420 with CNW – US Virgin Islands Passes Medical Marijuana Law

On Tuesday last week, Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. signed a bill that legalized medical cannabis in the U.S. Virgin Islands. This brings to an end a long process that started with a referendum in favor of medical cannabis in 2014. 56.5 percent of the voters agreed that medical cannabis should be legalized and regulated.

Senator Positive Nelson then drafted a bill to actualize medical cannabis in the jurisdiction but the bill didn’t sail through the legislature. He persisted in bringing new bills during each legislative session until the most recent one passed in December last year and was assented to by the Governor a week ago.

Gov. Bryan Jr. had stated during his campaigns that he supported the legalization of medical cannabis, so putting his signature on the bill was a foregone conclusion as long as the bill passed on the floor of the Legislature. The Governor was also aware of the economic benefits that would accrue once medical cannabis is legalized.

The Medical Cannabis Patient Care Act states that patients need to get a recommendation from a doctor before consuming medical cannabis. The law also establishes the Office of Cannabis Regulation, the agency that will be charged with licensing and overseeing the medical cannabis industry.

The patients who reside in the Virgin Islands will be allowed to have up to four ounces of marijuana flower while those who aren’t residents will have a possession limit of three ounces. The Office of Cannabis Regulation will set the limits for the other cannabis products in due course.

The law also listed a number of health conditions for which patients can get a doctor’s recommendation for medical cannabis. These include neuropathic pain, diabetes, traumatic brain injury, HIV/AIDS, ulcerative colitis, muscle spasms, PTSD and so many others.

Medical marijuana advocates applauded the action taken by the Legislature and Gov. Bryan in passing this vital law. Patients who badly need alternative remedies for their conditions will soon access marijuana legally within the Virgin Islands.

It is expected that draft rules for the medical cannabis industry will be in place within four months after the enactment of the Medical Cannabis Patient Care Act.

What is left is for the regulations to be made so that industry players can start getting ready to cultivate, manufacture and distribute medical cannabis to the licensed dispensaries. It is hoped that this next phase will not drag out in the same way that passing the law did after the referendum of 2014. The Flowr Corporation (TSX.V: FLWR) and Supreme Cannabis Company Inc. (TSX.V: FIRE) (OTCQX: SPRWF) wish the U.S. Virgin Islands a speedy implementation of their medical cannabis program.

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420 with CNW – Feds Plan to Spend $1.5 Million on Cannabis Research in 2019

The U.S. federal government has plans to give researchers $1.5 million to study the minor components of cannabis and the terpenes in the plant during the 2019 funding cycle. The money will go to researchers who want to study how cannabis components, excluding THC, affect pain management.

NCCIH (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health) published a notice asking researchers to show interest in studying terpenes and minor cannabinoids. The funding will go towards understanding how those minor cannabinoids and terpenes work to relieve pain either in isolation or in combination with each other.

The notice published by NCCIH stressed that such studies are important given the fact that addictive opioids are widely used to combat pain.

THC, the psychoactive cannabinoid in marijuana, is known to have pain-relief effects. However, little is known about the analgesic effects of the minor cannabinoids and terpenes, and yet these could be useful alternatives as painkillers.

The federal agency also wrote that there was some research showing that cannabis could enhance the ability of opioids to relieve pain, so it is possible that cannabis constituents may be used in combination with opioids to manage pain effectively while using smaller doses of the opioids.

NCCIH then listed the cannabinoids it is greatly interested in. These include cannabidiol (CBD), cannabinol (CBN), cannabigerol (CBG) and several terpenes.

The agency is interested in finding out whether those cannabis constituents with analgesic attributes can be separated from the psychoactive ones without affecting the painkilling benefits of the analgesic elements.

Additionally, the agency listed a number of research areas for which applicants could apply for funding. For example, NCCIH will consider applicants who want to study how gender, sex and age differences impact the analgesic effects of minor cannabinoids and terpenes.

Secondly, the agency welcomes researchers who plan to focus on the analgesic effects of terpenes and minor cannabinoids on the different stages of pain, such as acute pain and chronic pain.

Another potential area of study is the effect of different dosage levels or methods of administration of terpenes and minor cannabinoids that have been found to have painkilling effects.

In total, 11 areas of research are included in the notice released for those who may be interested in securing federal funding for their research on cannabis.

Four grant recipients will share the $1.5 million. Interested groups or researchers were asked to submit their applications a minimum of 30 days before March 15. One can only guess that the 30 days before that deadline will be used to evaluate the applications and select those who will receive the research grants.

Such funding is a step in the right direction because it will enable the federal government to make marijuana policies and laws based on facts rather than conjecture. Industry players like The Green Organic Dutchman (TSX: TGOD) (OTCQX: TGODF) and The Flowr Corporation (TSX.V: FLWR) applaud the effort made to facilitate cannabis research.

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420 with CNW – Malawi Drafts Bill to Legalize Marijuana Farming

The parliament in Malawi has drafted a bill that will make it legal to grow marijuana and hemp both medicinally and industrially. The bill comes at a time when the country’s export earnings have taken a huge hit as tobacco sales decline year by year.

Tobacco sales have been bringing in at least 60 percent of the country’s foreign exchange earnings, but the sustained anti-smoking efforts spearheaded by the World Health Organization (WHO) and other groups have triggered a downward trend in the number of people who smoke. Malawi is feeling the effects of those efforts.

Moreover, the estimated value of the largest tobacco companies in the world, such as Altria (makers of Marlboro) and British American Tobacco (BAT) has declined by at least 20 percent.

In the U.S. alone, there has been a 67 percent reduction in the number of smokers from 1965. Today, approximately 14 percent of the U.S. population smokes tobacco cigarettes, and this number continues to reduce year by year.

The cannabis and hemp industry has therefore been lobbying the Malawi government to pass enabling legislation so that the country can diversify its sources of foreign currency earnings. Their campaigns are bolstered by the global trends which show that cannabis and industrial hemp are on the rise as huge commercial crops.

For example, an acre of land on which 2,500 hemp plants are grown fetches approximately $60,000 annually in the U.S., while a similar number of tobacco plants on an acre of land brings a paltry $5,000 annually to Malawi. Making the switch to hemp and cannabis would therefore be a no-brainer when these statistics are considered.

Additionally, the cost of growing hemp and cannabis is likely to be much lower in Malawi given that the country has favorable climate that can allow outdoor grows throughout the year. This is unlike the climate of Canada and the U.S. where indoor facilities have to be used to have supplies of cannabis and hemp all year round.

If the bill is passed, then Malawi will join the ranks of South Africa, Lesotho and Zimbabwe where cannabis prohibition has ended. The question on everyone’s mind is, when will the U.S. federal government finally see the errors of continuing to prohibit marijuana while the rest of the world is legalizing marijuana and allowing researchers and entrepreneurs to understand and commercialize the plant? The Green Organic Dutchman (TSX: TGOD) (OTCQX: TGODF), The Flowr Corporation (TSX.V: FLWR) and other cannabis industry players are also asking themselves that question.

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420 with CNW – South Korea Okays Medical Marijuana

In recent times, South Korea has been in the news for cracking down on cannabis use both locally and abroad. Their embassy in Canada even warned South Korean nationals that they will be prosecuted back home if they used medical or recreational cannabis in Canada or anywhere else. However, the East Asian country passed legislation in late November to allow the use of cannabis for medical purposes. This makes it the first East Asian country to do so.

The Food and Drug Safety ministry announced that epilepsy sufferers and those struggling with other rare diseases will be able to access medical marijuana early next year (2019).

The government further announced that medical cannabis products that had gained regulatory approval in other countries would be imported for use in South Korea. However, any medical cannabis product that hadn’t gained regulatory approval in its country of origin would be illegal to use in South Korea.

Similarly, South Korean companies will also be able to cultivate, manufacture and export medical cannabis products after getting regulatory approval from the relevant agencies.

To get medical cannabis, patients will have to submit their medical records showing that they have a qualifying condition. Those records will also be accompanied by a note from a doctor stating that the patient in question has a medical condition for which medication is unavailable in the country.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety will then scrutinize those papers and decide whether the patient can start using medical cannabis or not. Approved applicants will get their medical marijuana from the Orphan and Essential Drug Center.

In other words, the government will not allow private entities to participate in the distribution of medical cannabis to the citizens.

Some cannabis legislation advocates are beginning to speculate that the passing of the medical cannabis legislation may eventually pave the way for the legalization of recreational marijuana in the country.

However, such optimism may be farfetched given that the countries in Asia are known for being very conservative and any change comes extremely slowly. Let us not forget that Asian countries are famous for being very harsh on drug use. For example, extrajudicial killings are almost tacitly sanctioned by the Philippines government in case the victims are suspected drug traffickers.

Additionally, the examples of jurisdictions that started with medical marijuana and went on to decriminalize the adult-use of cannabis are still very few.

All the same, the move to allow patients in South Korea to access medical cannabis should be applauded since the substance may help those who had lost hope of ever getting any relief from their ailments.

The Flowr Corporation (TSX.V: FLWR), The Green Organic Dutchman (TSX: TGOD) (OTCQX: TGODF) and other industry players welcome South Koreans to the growing community of people who are enjoying the medicinal effects of cannabis.

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420 with CNW – Scientists Discover How Marijuana and Hemp Differ

Scientists have for long wondered why the cannabinoids in hemp differ in quantity from those present in cannabis, yet these plants are genetically similar. Research was conducted to generate a chromosome map of cannabis sativa and the findings shed light on this important question.

The study brought to light the fact that the THC and CBD composition of hemp and cannabis was largely a product of mutations resulting from viruses that entered the chromosomes of the cannabis plant millions of years ago.

The result of that viral invasion at the genetic level was that cannabis split into two distinct variations, that is, hemp and cannabis. Hemp largely contains CBD while cannabis has varying amounts of CBD and THC, but cannabis has markedly higher THC levels than hemp.

The enzymes that triggered the production of the varying levels of CBD and THC in these two plants look identical at the genetic level, but they differ in genetic expression. Consequently, it is possible to extract one gene and leave the other, thereby growing a plant with only one of the major cannabinoids. For example, the THC gene can be removed so that plants with only CBD can be grown, and the same can be done to the CBD gene in cannabis.

The scientists thought that human selection was partly responsible for the wide prevalence of cannabis strains since, from ancient times, people have been known to propagate plants that gave them the desired output. Consequently, varieties that had balanced CBD and THC may have been ignored and left to disappear from the genetic pool while those with high THC were kept as our forefathers enjoyed the “high” derived from those varieties. Hemp survived this primitive form of selection because it had other uses, such as making rope from its tough fibers.

What does this research show the current crop of scientists? There is still so little known about cannabis. This information gap may not necessary be the fault of the scientific community, but it can be attributed to the decades of prohibition that made it nearly impossible to perform any meaningful research on cannabis.

Jonathan Page, one of the main researchers in this Canadian study, remarked that the legal walls are gradually collapsing, so scientists should take the lead in generating information about this versatile plant. For example, the full implications of this chromosome map produced by Page’s research are yet to be fully understood. The Flowr Corporation (TSX.V: FLWR), The Green Organic Dutchman (TSX: TGOD) (OTCQX: TGODF) and other cannabis companies welcome the new body of information that has been added to what is currently known about marijuana.

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420 with CNW – Association of Local Authorities Calls for US Federal Cannabis Decriminalization

The U.S. National League of Cities (NLC) sat early this month and passed a number of resolutions appealing to the federal government to review its policy and laws on marijuana. The NLC represents more than 19,000 cities, towns as well as villages across the U.S.

The organization was founded back in 1924 and it aims at empowering local governments around the country. Their conference early this month passed two important resolutions on the issue of cannabis policy reform.

First, the conference passed a resolution calling on the federal government to end the ambiguity between federal and state laws on the issue of access to financial services by cannabis businesses.

Those ambiguities have restricted the cannabis industry to conducting business on cash-basis, a system that creates a number of risks including the rise in robberies and tax evasion since the authorities find it hard to track the volume and value of the transactions conducted by legal cannabis businesses.

The second resolution passed by the NLC was connected to the scheduling of cannabis by the U.S. federal government. The members called on the federal government to reschedule cannabis so that federal and state authorities have greater control over the industry.

Rescheduling cannabis would also enable federal authorities like the FDA and DEA to regulate the industry across the country so that cannabis consumers are protected from consuming cannabis which has mold, pesticides, fungus or other dangerous substances.

Currently, the regulation of cannabis is fragmented since each state that has legalized adult-use or medical cannabis has to pass its own laws and regulations to regulate cannabis within its borders.

Federal rescheduling would bring unity to the entire industry and everyone, including the federal and state governments as well as the consumers, would benefit.

The recent resolutions passed by the NLC show how the association has been evolving on the issue of marijuana. In the past, they would only pass resolutions that were general in nature. This year marked the first time that the association referred to specific marijuana laws which need to be reformed.

That boldness may be arising from the growing support for cannabis among people from all walks of life, including Republicans who have been historically opposed to cannabis legalization.

The National League of Cities now joins other groups, such as the Conference of Mayors and the National Conference of State Legislatures which have voiced their calls to have clarifications made at the federal level on issues of marijuana.

Pressure seems to be mounting on the federal government from the grassroots to reform the laws on marijuana. It remains to be seen for how long the feds will ignore those growing voices. The Flowr Corporation (TSX.V: FLWR), The Green Organic Dutchman (TSX: TGOD) (OTCQX: TGODF) and other Canadian cannabis companies would wish their American counterparts a uniform legal regime that reduces the complications encountered when crossing state lines.

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420 with CNW – Stanford Research Shows Marijuana Improves the Sex Life of Women

Researchers at Stanford University were intrigued by the numerous reports on the internet claiming that cannabis was beneficial to the sex lives of women. The researchers therefore decided to put that anecdotal evidence to the test. The results, published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, confirmed that women had better sexual experiences if they consumed cannabis before indulging in sex.

Don’t imagine that bespectacled old scientists stood by with their microscopes and other instruments in order to measure what was happening as the study’s subjects had sex. No, nothing of the sort happened.

Instead, an Obstetrics/Gynecology (ObGyn) clinical practice was used to recruit nearly 200 adult women who were sexually active. The participants were given questionnaires eliciting their assessment of how cannabis affected their sex lives.

Of those who said that they consumed cannabis before having sex, 68 percent admitted that sex was more enjoyable for them. 72 percent of those who said cannabis makes sex more pleasurable added that those beneficial effects happened each time they had sex after consuming cannabis.

Interestingly, 62 percent of the respondents who consumed cannabis before having sex revealed that cannabis made their orgasms more intense and pleasurable. None reported that her sex drive reduced as a result of consuming cannabis before having sex.

27 percent of the respondents also admitted that marijuana helped to increase vaginal lubrication during sex. However, 37 percent said they didn’t observe any change in the level of lubrication whether they consumed cannabis before sex or not.

16 percent of the women in the study admitted that they took cannabis before having sex in order to reduce the pain they normally felt during intercourse. 83 percent in this category of women said pain during intercourse was reduced each time they consumed marijuana prior to having sex.

While releasing their findings, the researchers said that the results above were their preliminary findings since they intended to continue the study over a longer time and include more respondents.

However, the researchers were convinced that it was indeed true that the consumption of cannabis resulted in an overall improved sex life for women. Only 10 percent of the respondents claimed that their sex lives weren’t improved by cannabis consumption prior to sex. The degree of that improvement (or lack thereof) seems to be impacted by other factors which are yet to be identified. Cannabis companies like The Flowr Corporation (TSX.V: FLWR) and The Green Organic Dutchman (TSX: TGOD) (OTCQX: TGODF) may not have been surprised by the findings of this research since they are aware of the massive benefits of cannabis in the different aspects of life.

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420 with CNW – Congressman Releases Plan to Decriminalize Marijuana After Midterm Elections

A leading Democratic Congressman has revealed his plan to get legislation passed to end cannabis prohibition in case the Democrats take control of Congress after the midterm elections.

Rep. Earl Blumenauer echoed the sentiments of many around the country when he said that Congress was currently disconnected from the wishes of the different states and citizens around the country on the subject of cannabis.

He therefore sees the November polls as an opportunity for the Democrats to change that situation in case they get a majority in the House. Analysts believe that there is a big chance that the Democrats will regain their majority in Congress.

Congressman Blumenauer wrote a memo to the Democratic House leader outlining the different steps that should be followed in order to change the laws around marijuana. He wants his blueprint to pave the way for the Senate to feel the pressure and change its stance regarding marijuana.

The Senate is expected to remain under the control of the Republicans, and they have a history of blocking any legislation intended to end marijuana prohibition.

The Oregon Congressman wants the different Committees of the House to use the first six months after the polls to hold hearings at which the public and experts share their views on marijuana. He believes that every committee has power over some aspect of marijuana regulation.

For example, the House Judiciary Committee should work towards de-scheduling marijuana so that it is no longer a Schedule 1 substance at the federal level.

In the same vein, the House Financial Services Committee can also hold hearings on how the barriers stopping marijuana businesses from accessing banking services can be removed.

The Veterans Affairs Committee can also hold hearings on how equal and safe access to medical marijuana can be guaranteed for the nation’s veterans.

Congressman Blumenauer also gives a detailed plan outlining the different activities that should be completed within given timelines. For example, he hopes that by April, the different committees should start passing policies to narrow the gaps between state and federal marijuana policies.

His intention is that the end of 2019 should see a main bill ending federal marijuana prohibition being tabled for a vote by the entire House.

While this plan may sound like music to the ears of marijuana advocates, major hurdles still stand in its way. For starters, Senate isn’t likely to look favorably on any measures to legalize marijuana federally.

Secondly, Democratic Party House leaders aren’t hyped up about making marijuana decriminalization a priority for their first year in charge after the midterm polls. The Flowr Corporation (TSX.V: FLWR) and The Green Organic Dutchman (TSX: TGOD) (OTCQX: TGODF) must be watching all these developments quietly from a distance waiting for prohibition to end so that they can enter the country in a big way.

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420 with CNW – Poll Shows 62 Percent of Americans Favor Marijuana Decriminalization

A recent poll conducted by Pew Research Center shows that 62 percent of all Americans want cannabis to be legalized. The findings are in line with previous polls which have been showing an increase in the number of citizens who favor marijuana legalization.

A total of 1,754 adults were interviewed by phone and their responses showed the highest support for decriminalization since Pew Research Center started conducting yearly polls about the sentiments of citizens regarding marijuana.

This increased support may have been fueled by the legalization of pot in several states as well as D.C.

However, the rate at which support for cannabis legalization is growing seems to have hit a plateau since the recent polls show modest increases in support. Last year, the figure stood at 61 percent, meaning that support has grown since then by one percentage point in 2018.

Political affiliation seems to play a role in people’s attitudes towards marijuana legalization. The poll discovered that Democrats are more likely to favor decriminalization when compared to Republicans. Roughly 69 percent of the Democrats polled in the study supported legalization, while only 45 percent of the Republicans expressed a similar sentiment.

It isn’t therefore surprising that Trump’s Republican government set up a secret committee to collect negative information about marijuana in order to portray it has a danger to the nation.

However, the tide is also turning among Republicans as well. For example, Republicans in Texas expressed their support for the removal of custodial sentences for adults found in possession of small amounts of marijuana. The nearly five in 10 Republicans who supported marijuana legalization in this study are an increase from the 39 percent who were in favor of legalization in 2015.

The study also revealed that age may be a factor when matters of marijuana legalization arise. For example, nearly three-quarters of all Millennials polled supported legalization while just over half of the Baby Boomers supported decriminalization. Not surprisingly, those aged 76-93 had the least support for marijuana legalization with only 39 percent saying it was time to get cannabis off the list of contraband substances. The older one is, the less likely that person may be to support marijuana legalization.

If these statistics are anything to go by, the federal government is likely to have its hand forced once most states make it legal to use cannabis either for medical or recreational purposes. The process is already underway in several states, so 2019 is likely to see a higher number of states where marijuana is legal. The Flowr Corporation (TSX.V: FLWR) and The Green Organic Dutchman (TSX: TGOD) (OTCQX: TGODF) must be waiting for that day when the entire U.S. market will be opened to them.

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420 with CNW – New Hampshire Raises Its Marijuana Revenue Projections

The Department of Revenue Administration in New Hampshire has revised its estimates of cannabis revenue upwards to $58 million annually if the products are taxed at 15%. These estimates come at a time when a committee is discussing a proposals to legalize recreational marijuana next year.

Why would the state be interested in how much it will earn from cannabis sales? Legislators want to know whether the taxes generated from the marijuana industry would, at a bare minimum, meet the high cost of regulating the industry.

The figures released by the Department of Revenue Administration suggest that the taxes collected from cannabis sales would more than meet the cost of regulation. The $58 annual revenue projection was arrived at after using the modeling information provided by a study which was done in New York.

That information provided more pricing and usage pattern data to rely on than was available when the Department of Revenue Administration in New Hampshire released its earlier projection of $41.6 million a year in December last year.

However, there are a number of variables that could swing the actual revenues significantly in either direction. For example, the model used to project how much can be earned could not determine with a high degree of certainty how many people would consume cannabis once it is decriminalized.

The existence of a marijuana black market can’t be ignored as well. How many people will prefer to get their marijuana from the black market instead of through the regulated supplies? The outcome of that decision will impact the state’s earnings from cannabis sales.

Similarly, some people may opt to purchase their cannabis from sources outside the state. Many reasons, ranging from price differences and perceived or actual product quality issues, can drive some people to purchase marijuana from elsewhere. The magnitude of people who take that option will also have an impact on the revenues generated for the state.

The revenue projections were sent to a special commission which was set up to plan how marijuana will be regulated, taxed and legalized. The commission is expected to have their report ready in November.

The report to be released is likely to be comprehensive since the commission was drawn from a broad cross-section of the state including law enforcement, legislators, anti-marijuana advocates and members of the medical profession. Any agreement reached by such a diverse group is likely to carry the day when the proposal is finally voted on by legislators.

The Flowr Corporation (TSX.V: FLWR) and The Green Organic Dutchman (TSX: TGOD) (OTCQX: TGODF) must be wondering why the U.S. feds don’t take charge of marijuana decriminalization instead of standing by as each state passes its own legalization laws that will eventually force the federal government to toe the same line.

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