420 with CNW — Schumer Expects to File Cannabis Legalization Bill in April

New York’s Senator and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is pushing to legalize marijuana on a federal level. In a Friday press conference, the Democratic lawmaker announced that he aims to introduce the cannabis legalization bill in April.

The meeting took place on the same day that the House of Representatives passed the COMPETES act, which contained the Secure and Fair Enforcement (“SAFE”) Banking Act. Through the SAFE Banking Act, cannabis businesses would access services from banking institutions just like any other business.

The Friday press meeting was also attended by advocacy groups, organizations and other lawmakers. Lawmakers present included the democratic congressman Jerrold Nadler and Senator Diane Savino.

Schumer is seeking to reform marijuana’s federal legislation through the Cannabis Administration & Opportunity Act (“CAOA”). He said the bill would serve as a framework for the country in implementing law amendments that are focused on maintaining social equity.

The contents of the CAOA Act were unveiled for the first time in July. The bill’s advocates were excited with the information but became impatient with the inactions taken in the months that followed. The bill now has a targeted timeline, and the lawmaker told activists in another meeting that he expects committee hearings to take place after the bill is finally filed.

Schumer’s office has also been involved in taking part in the passing of the SAFE Banking Act. Last year, he was criticized for blocking the banking bill until his office had discussions with the bill’s sponsor, Colorado’s representative Ed Perlmutter.

The Senate leader said that his CAOA reform bill would work in favor of small operators and restrict larger companies from operating the cannabis economy once federal prohibition is lifted. Schumer also mentioned that while they had not received endorsement from the president, they were “talking” to him about the issue.

At the same press conference, Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) talked about ending marijuana’s federal prohibition through his Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement (“MORE”) Act. The bill seeks to promote social equity to end the destructive policies that have greatly affected people of color. Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez was also present at the event and talked about the significance of lifting the federal prohibition and providing resources to cannabis businesses through the Small Business Administration (“SBA”).

Public opinion on marijuana has dramatically shifted over the years. With more than two in three Americans supporting legalization of marijuana, Velazquez calls for action from the federal government to align federal policy with the people’s needs.

The marijuana industry, including companies such as Cannabis Strategic Ventures Inc. (OTC: NUGS), can only wait with bated breath to see what comes of this new attempt to end federal marijuana prohibition.

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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 — NFL Authorizes Grants Worth $1M for Studies on Marijuana and Pain Management

Last week, the NFL announced that it had issued grants worth $1 million for research studies. The studies would look into the effectiveness of using marijuana and its components in pain management and offering neuroprotection from concussions among NFL players. Out of 100 applicants, the commission selected the University of California San Diego and University of Regina, which is located in Canada.

This is the league’s attempt to provide its players with quality care that is up-to date with the medical standards of health and safety. Allen Sills, the league’s chief medical officer, said this opportunity would provide its players with scientifically backed information on how the use of cannabinoids would impact their performance.

Researcher Kevin Hill told the Associated Press that the reason why there is a limited body of research on marijuana’s potential use for pain management is because it is a federally controlled substance. Hill said that industry stakeholders do not want to back similar research because of the wide availability and consumption of cannabis products.

Funding for the research was first previewed in June 2021 after a growing interest among stakeholders and players who were looking for an alternative to opioids as well as exploring the benefits of using cannabis for therapeutic purposes.

Mark Wallace from UC San Diego Health was excited that his team would be working with the professional players to shed further light on how cannabis is useful in pain management.

This research initiative is expected to take three years with the key areas of focus being the effects of cannabinoids in pain management, the effects of nonpharmacologic treatments and the effects of cannabis on athletic performance.

Professor Patrick Neary from the University of Regina said that the core of his research will be on the prevention and treatment of concussions. He believes that formulations found in medical cannabis can be useful to athletes who have acute and long-term chronic effects of concussions.

In 2020 after a collective bargaining agreement, the league increased the threshold of what makes a positive THC test. Moreover, NFL players would get fined instead of facing suspensions after the drug tests came back positive. However, there is no guarantee that the findings from the research would help in revising the league’s policy on banning players who use the drugs.

Recently, other sport leagues have been revising their drug-testing policies. Last year, the NBA announced that it would not subject its players to THC tests. However, they would look out for cases where players have a history of substance use. The MLB removed marijuana from its list of banned substances in 2019. Despite this, baseball players are not allowed to work while under the influence or receive sponsorship contracts from cannabis businesses.

Meanwhile, the World Anti-Doping Agency will conduct a scientific review of marijuana this year in order to determine whether its athletes can remain internationally banned from using cannabis.

Such studies are likely to add to the existing body of knowledge regarding the potential health effects of the marijuana products made by various companies such as Cannabis Strategic Ventures Inc. (OTC: NUGS).

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420 with CNW — Top Financial Regulator Says Marijuana Sector Has Bright Future

In an interview with PBC conference, Rodney Hood, a financial regulator and board member National Credit Union Administration (“NCUA”), said that the marijuana sector has a bright future once it is fully legalized and infrastructure is set in place. During the interview, Hood suggested ways to deal with federal regulations that have seen banking institutions backing out on working with marijuana businesses.

Despite more states legalizing marijuana for recreational and medical use, the industry has not received backing from the financial services sector. This reluctance is due to the influence of federal prohibition on the sector.

Aside from that, rural markets provide an opportunity for cannabis businesses. With urban centers usually considered as the prime target market, rural communities get overlooked. That could change if Congress passes reform legislation that protects banks that work with cannabis businesses from facing penalties as a result of financial regulations.

The Secure and Fair Enforcement Banking Act, also referred to as SAFE Banking Act, is seen by many as a way to improve business efficiency in the cannabis industry with its intention of availing protected banking services. The bill is currently in the Senate after being cleared by the House five times in different forms. The bill is authored and sponsored by Democratic Congressman Ed Perlmutter who has said that he is irritated with its stalling despite both chambers of Congress having a Democratic majority. He said that when he retires from Congress at the end of this session, he will make sure that the bill has been passed.

Hood shares a similar stance, hoping that the bill gets passed soon. In the meantime, he says that credit unions and mainline banks should be ready to embrace the marijuana industry. With 38 states having legalized the use, the banking industry needs to be postured and prepared for what cannabis-related businesses are ready to offer.

A recent paper revealed that there was an increase in banking activities in states where marijuana is legal. A report released by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) last year revealed more banks are willing to work with cannabis businesses. The number of banking institutions serving marijuana clients went from 689 in the previous quarter to 706.

As for the SAFE Banking Act, a bipartisan coalition made up of two dozen governors is calling for Congress to enact it through the defense legislation, National Defense Authorization Act (“NDAA”).

When marijuana policy reforms are finally implemented at the federal level, the entire cannabis sector, including entities such as Cannabis Strategic Ventures Inc. (OTC: NUGS), will have fewer hoops to jump through in their daily operations.

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420 with CNW — How Long Will Cannabis Edibles Remain in the Body?

Smoking cannabis flower is the most popular way to consume the popular drug. For decades, centuries even, it was the most common way of taking cannabis. However, there has been an increasing number of people, both regular users and newbies, who have been turning away from smoking to edibles in the past decade or two. This is partly because people are becoming more aware of the health risks attributed to smoking and are looking for healthier alternatives that will allow them to consume cannabis without endangering their health.

Edibles fill this niche quite nicely. In fact, cannabis-infused products have become so popular over the past couple of years that experts predict the global cannabis edibles market will be worth a whopping $11.8 billion by 2027. However, plenty of people don’t know much about cannabis-infused edibles and how they affect the body other than the fact that they are edible. This ignorance is often the difference between experiencing an enjoyable high or descending into an anxiety-ridden panic attack.

The main difference between eating edibles and smoking cannabis flower is that when you consume a cannabis edible, the cannabis stays in your system for much longer. When you smoke cannabis flower, the cannabinoids contained in the smoke are instantly absorbed into your blood by the vast network of blood vessels in your lungs. Edibles, on the other hand, have to go through a longer route before they reach your blood. As a result, a cannabis edible will remain in your body for much longer than cannabis flower, resulting in a more sustained high.

How does this work?

After you eat a cannabis-infused edible, its first stop will be the stomach. Here, digestive juices will break the edibles down and blood vessels along the stomach and digestive tract will absorb the THC within the edible. This THC, along with any other cannabinoids, will head to the liver where it is converted into 11-hyrdoxy THC before gradually entering general circulation over the next couple of hours. Since 11-hyrdoxy THC is more potent and psychoactive than regular THC, edibles tend to create an intense, long-lasting high.

How long will cannabis edibles remain in your body? The answer: it depends.

For most people, the effects take 30 minutes to two hours to kick in and can last for up to 12 hours, and you could still be feeling residual effects up to 24 hours later depending on the strain. Furthermore, it may take your body days to completely purge the cannabis. For regular uses, it can take up to 30 days for the cannabis to leave their systems.

Given that the effects of cannabis can vary from one individual to another, it is best to start with a low-potency product obtained from one of the many licensed companies such as Cannabis Strategic Ventures Inc. (OTC: NUGS) so that you are certain that you are consuming the best available products on the market.

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420 with CNW — Study Finds Banking Activity Grows Once a State Legalizes Cannabis

Cannabis businesses often find it difficult to get banks willing to take them on as clients because of the risks posed by the federal prohibition of marijuana. Now new research has found that once a state legalizes cannabis, banking activity increases. While the study doesn’t directly link increased banking activity and state-level cannabis reform, it does imply the existence of the relationship.

The study was conducted by researchers from Drexel University, the University of Arizona, Scripps College and San Diego State University.

For their study, the researchers looked into banking trends in states that have legalized marijuana, examining the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s bank regulatory filings in the 2011–2016 period. The researchers conducted an analysis of data from more than 150,000 bank-quarter observations sourced from almost 7,000 different banks located in 46 states.

They discovered evidence showing significant increases in banking activity, i.e., deposits and subsequent loans, in states that had legalized marijuana in comparison to those that had not. For example in their report, they highlighted that bank lending grew by between 6.5–8.6% and deposits grew by an average range of 3.1–4.3% after states legalized marijuana.

This is despite the fact that credit unions and banks may be penalized by federal regulators for working with businesses dealing with marijuana as the drug is still classified as a controlled substance under the Controlled Substances Act.

As of June 2021, 705 financial institutions had filed reports stating that they were serving marijuana clients. While this is a slight increase from the 687 institutions who filed requisite reports in the previous quarter, it’s still below the 747 recorded in late 2019.

In their paper, the researchers also discussed possibilities of why the risk from regulatory uncertainty didn’t reduce the willingness of banks to make loans or accept deposits. They reasoned that the increase suggested that banks were either optimistic that regulations would probably adapt to the needs of states that had legalized marijuana or unconcerned about the possible risk linked to accepting marijuana related deposits.

The researchers note that evidence for instances where these financial institutions lose their federally insured status or are criminally prosecuted is lacking, which makes sense why banks don’t necessarily respond to the legislative uncertainty for federal marijuana prohibition.

The group observed that as more state regulators issued statements supporting credit unions and banks that served the marijuana industry, financial institutions would become more optimistic about the chance that regulations will be adjusted in their favor with time. This would ultimately mean that cannabis sector actors such as Cannabis Strategic Ventures Inc. (OTC: NUGS) would have more options to choose from when they need different banking services.

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420 with CNW — State, Federal Officials Work Together on Draft Cannabis Standardization Proposals

America’s state-legal cannabis industry may be incredibly lucrative, but it is far from perfect. Barely more than a decade old, the sector is known for its patchwork laws and lack of standardization. For quite a while, industry stakeholders and reform activists have argued for the creation of standard rules and procedures. This would make interstate trade possible and allow the industry to really grow. Last week, local, state and federal officials met to discuss proposals that could end up in a federal handbook for cannabis regulation.

Cannabis was on the agenda for two National Conference on Weights and Measures (“NCWM”) committees this past week. If the cannabis-related items that were raised during these meetings are approved in subsequent meetings, they will most likely be incorporated into the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (“NIST”) federal guidance. A proposal from the Laws and Regulations Committee would establish a standard definition for cannabis and cannabis-infused products, standard requirements for packaging and labeling, and a definition for the water activity range of cannabis.

The proposals for the definition of cannabis and cannabis-infused products as well as the water activity range moved forward and can be adopted into the NIST handbook in July when the committee reconvenes. However, the proposal for the creation of a national standard of weighing marijuana-containing packages didn’t advance and won’t be eligible for addition into the NIST handbook. It will be up for discussion in the future and will most likely be reworked.

The Specifications and Tolerances Committee unveiled a proposal that would create “scale suitability requirements” for selling bulk cannabis to dispensaries in legal states directly. This proposal didn’t advance, and committee members are still working on it.

Text from the proposal states that the need for uniform standards for scale suitability has increased significantly as more states have legalized various forms of cannabis. Uniform requirements across different states will make it much easier for each jurisdiction to regulate their cannabis sector in a “fair and equitable manner,” the proposal claims.

Matthew Curran, food safety director at the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, says the country’s state-legal cannabis sector needs standards regulations. The proposals unveiled at the meeting can potentially become the “first national standards” through a national consensus organization with a connection to every state, he says. Standard regulations will provide harmony across state lines, streamline regulation and give sector players such as Cannabis Strategic Ventures Inc. (OTC: NUGS) room to grow.

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420 with CNW — California Disburses $100M in Support of Cannabis Business Development

Last week, officials in California announced that the state had allocated $100 million in funding for the development of local cannabis markets, which would initially be used to help marijuana businesses become fully licensed. The California Department of Cannabis Control distributed the funds to 17 counties and cities where there are unequal numbers of provisional cannabis licenses. Some funding was also directed to areas with established social equity programs. This comes months after the department’s announcement that it was accepting applications for the local jurisdiction assistance grant program.

The temporary licensing category was scheduled to expire on Jan. 1, 2022, before the deadline was extended to afford localities additional time to meet environmental requirements and complete the permitting process. Nicole Elliott, director of the Department of Cannabis Control, stated that the grant funding being given to the local jurisdictions would help meet the needs of these communities as well as assist both the local and state governments to achieve their short-term and long-term goals.

The primary purposes of the funding include the following:

Assist in completion of environmental evaluations and new initiatives for renewable energy and water protection.
Facilitate the integration of IT systems to streamline license processing.
Provide funds for the hire of additional staff to process significant workloads associated with business transitions into the regulated marijuana market.

The department also provided examples of how different localities had proposed to use the funds. For instance, the county and city of San Francisco stated that they would use the funds to create new staff positions that would support the efficient and quick processing of marijuana permits. In its proposal, Los Angeles stated that it would use the funds to employ more personnel to administer California Environmental Quality Act processes as well as help licensees complete locally administered processes to achieve licensure annually.

Similarly, Long Beach proposed that it would use a portion of the funding to support technology improvements, website design and training as well as hire consultants and staff to help streamline local processing applications and permitting processes. In a separate move, the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development plans to award $35 million for a Marijuana Equity Grants program for local jurisdictions, which has been designed to assist local equity program efforts to support equity licensees and applicants.

In New York, the governor announced last week that her administration would establish a public-private fund that would be used to promote social equity in New York’s growing cannabis market.

The entire cannabis industry in California, including players such as Cannabis Strategic Ventures Inc. (OTC: NUGS), may be happy that the state is taking steps to ease the formalization process of entities that have been finding it hard to regularize their operations in accordance with state law. This will level the playing field for all concerned.

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CannabisNewsBreaks – Cannabis Strategic Ventures Inc. (NUGS) Strengthening Position Amid Growing Support for Cannabis Legalization

Cannabis Strategic Ventures (OTCQB: NUGS), an emerging leader in the U.S. cannabis marketplace, is one of the companies set to benefit as a growing number of Americans across various age groups and political affiliations support the legalization of cannabis. While cannabis remains an illegal substance federally, a growing number of states have legalized the substance. Cannabis Strategic Ventures, which is establishing a strong foothold in the industry, is guided by the vision to acquire and scale assets in the legal cannabis market while achieving efficiencies through economies of scale and vertical integration. A recent article reads, “As part of that vision, Cannabis Strategic Ventures owns NUGS Farm North, a six-acre cannabis farm in Northern California. In addition, the company is committed to taking other steps to strengthen its position in the growing market, including working toward taking operational control of each license. The company also recently celebrated the opening of its cannabis dispensary and is looking to deploy another license to establish an indoor cultivation facility with capacity to produce two to three pounds of premium cannabis flower per light, per harvest.”

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About Cannabis Strategic Ventures Inc.

Cannabis Strategic Ventures is one of the largest publicly traded marijuana cultivators in the United States. The company is Los Angeles-based and incubates, develops and partners with category leaders within the cannabis and ancillary sectors. The firm’s NUGS brand experience provides operational and financial strategic partnerships and a range of essential services to emerging and existing Cannabis consumer brands. For more information, visit www.CannabisStrategic.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 — Colorado Governor Signs 1,300 Marijuana Pardons

America’s cannabis sector may have generated billions of dollars and created hundreds of thousands of new jobs, but its most significant achievement has been alleviating the effects of the drug war. Ostensibly started to reduce drug abuse rates and hit the criminal enterprises behind the drug trade where it hurts most — their wallets — the war on drugs failed to achieve its objectives and instead ruined plenty of lives. As a wave of drug reform sweeps across the country, several state leaders have been working to mitigate the disproportionate effects of the drug war and give the victims a new lease on life.

As 2021 drew to a close, Colorado Governor Jared Polis issued pardons to more than 1,300 individuals with prior cannabis offenses on their records. On Dec. 30, 2021, Governor Polis announced that he had pardoned 1,351 people who had been convicted of possession of two ounces or less of cannabis. Now that adults are allowed to legally possess cannabis in Colorado, Polis said in a press release, it is unfair the records of more than 1,300 Coloradans are stained with cannabis offenses that are now considered legal.

These blemishes don’t just make a record look black, they actively reduce the chances of gaining employment, good credit and even gun ownership, he said. The pardoned individuals were eligible for clemency thanks to a newly signed law that increased the legal possession limit for recreational cannabis. When Polis signed the bill into law in May 2021, he instructed law enforcement officials to identify Coloradans who had prior convictions for possession of two ounces of cannabis or less.

This isn’t the first time Polis has issued pardons for individuals with prior cannabis convictions. In October 2020, he pardoned nearly 3,000 people who had been convicted of possessing one ounce or less of cannabis. His actions were in line with a bill he signed into law in June that gave him the authority to grant clemency for individuals convicted of possessing two ounces of marijuana or less. However, only cases of possession of up to one ounce were granted clemency as that was the state’s possession limit at the time.

In the meantime, a new law that would have an impact on Colorado’s medical marijuana program took effect on Jan. 1, 2022. The law will limit medical cannabis patients to purchasing eight grams of cannabis concentrate per day. Patients will be able to buy more than the allowed limit if they have a designated primary dispensary and their doctor declares that it is medically necessary.

The pardons provide additional testimony that cannabis is gradually shedding its reputation of old and replacing it with social acceptability as information about its numerous benefits emerges. Sector players from around the world, including Cannabis Strategic Ventures Inc. (OTC: NUGS), may expect significant growth of the market as more jurisdictions roll back their prohibitive laws.

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420 with CNW — Cannabis Group Publishes Guide for Marijuana Dispensaries at Risk of Robberies

Businesses in the cannabis space have always faced the risk of burglaries and robberies. For starters, they sell a product that is in extremely high demand both on the legal and black markets. Secondly, marijuana’s classification as a Schedule I controlled drug has made it difficult for cannabis businesses to access banking services because most banks refuse to serve cannabis businesses. This forces them to transact on a cash-only basis, meaning cannabis businesses tend to have large amounts of cash on-site.

Consequently, marijuana businesses present an attractive target to criminals looking to make a quick buck. Over the last couple of months, the rate of robberies in the cannabis sector has spiked. Businesses in San Francisco alone reported more than 25 break-ins, stolen property and millions of dollars in damage in the last two months. As such, a leading cannabis advocacy group is providing resources that will guide marijuana businesses on how they can mitigate and respond to instances of theft.

Americans for Safe Access has recently developed a Robbery Preparedness Guide to help marijuana businesses respond to the increase in crime. Rising crime is a nationwide issue, the advocacy group says, and the guide is meant to help keep cannabis dispensaries, staff and patients safe. The free guide will be instrumental in helping cannabis businesses create security plans and policies to help mitigate burglaries and robberies. It provides information on how cannabis business owners should prepare their businesses, what they should do during and after robberies, and other things they can do to secure your premises.

Additional suggestions include creating and enforcing policies on locking up, inventory storage and management, installing visible security cameras and efficient alarm systems, regularly changing when cash is moved from the shop, doing what the robbers say to keep the interactions as short as possible and calling the police as soon as possible after a crime has been committed. Robberies in the cannabis space have become so prevalent that cannabis businesses in Oakland, California, banded together and requested that officials provide a tax amnesty which would protect and sustain small and minority-owned businesses that have lost up to $5 million to robberies.

Lawmakers are also working to provide the cannabis industry with sufficient banking protections via legislation that would protect banks that choose to work with companies in the cannabis space. With access to financial services, cannabis businesses won’t need to operate on a cash-only basis, eliminating one of the major reasons they are at risk of robberies. The Secure and Fair Enforcement (“SAFE”) Banking Act, which would allow cannabis businesses to access banking services without fear of federal reprisal, has advanced past the House five times but is yet to pass the Senate.

Only federal reform would address many of the hurdles that licensed marijuana companies such as Cannabis Strategic Ventures Inc. (OTC: NUGS) face as they try to balance between adhering to enabling state laws while also being cognizant of the prohibitive stance of the federal government.

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