420 with CNW – Why You Should Inform Your Anesthesiologist About Your Cannabis Use

Doctors in Colorado are urging their patients to disclose their cannabis use habits if the patients are due to undergo a surgical procedure regardless of whether that surgery is routine or major surgery.

This call comes after a small study was done on how the medical community was using one common anesthetic drug, propofol, which is used to sedate patients before surgery. The researchers found that on average, the people who used marijuana required approximately thrice the amount of sedation that non-cannabis users required.

These results made the researchers to wonder what additional risks, such as breathing problems, marijuana users may face when they undergo surgery using such high amounts of anesthetics.

In partial response to such concerns, the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists updated the guidelines its members use during their work. The amended guidelines now require anesthetic nurses to take additional steps to keep the airways of marijuana users clear while the patients undergo surgery. Another provision also advises the nurses to refrain from using any anesthetic drugs (sedatives) that could potentially affect the heart rate of marijuana users.

The doctors in Colorado explain that they picked interest in the patients’ use of marijuana because the drug can affect how much sedation should be administered prior to a surgical procedure.

Luckily for the medical professionals in Colorado, marijuana has been legal for years, so patients are unlikely to be guarded about revealing their cannabis use habits. This is because the stigma directed at marijuana users has been knocked back to a great extent.

This open discussion with doctors is timely, because the National Survey on Drug Use and Health done in 2017 indicated that the number of people in Colorado who reported that they had used marijuana at least once within the past 30 days increased to 17 percent from 8 percent in 2006 when a similar survey was done. For comparison, the average past 30-day marijuana use in the country is 9 percent.

The larger proportion of people using marijuana in the state means that more people could be exposed to risks during and after surgery if the patients aren’t forthcoming to their doctors so that appropriate precautions are taken.

While more research may still be needed to ascertain what specific effects marijuana use brings to patients besides requiring larger doses of sedatives, it is in your best interest to let your doctor know even if you live in an area where marijuana is still illegal. The risks of keeping quiet about your marijuana use as you go in for surgery outweigh those of full disclosure.

For now, everyone, including marijuana industry participants like Willow Biosciences Corp. (CSE: WLLW) and Youngevity International Inc. (NASDAQ: YGYI), who minds about people’s health would like the scientific community to speed up their inquiry into what the medical community needs to do to keep marijuana users safe before, during and after undergoing surgery. Otherwise, scaremongers may use the gap to spread unfounded rumors about cannabis use.

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.

To receive instant SMS alerts, text CANNABIS to 21000 (U.S. Mobile Phones Only)

For more information please visit https://www.CNW420.com

Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the CannabisNewsWire website applicable to all content provided by CNW420, wherever published or re-published: http://CNW.fm/Disclaimer

Do you have a questions or are you interested in working with CNW420? Ask our Editor

CannabisNewsWire420
Denver, Colorado
http://www.CNW420.com
303.498.7722 Office
Editor@CannabisNewsWire.com

420 with CNW – Utah Medical Cannabis Program Stays on Course as State Dismisses Protests

Utah selected eight firms towards the end of last month to undergo background checks prior to being granted licenses to grow medical marijuana as the state moves to implement a voter decision during the 2018 midterms. However, six companies that weren’t successful during the application process protested to the state’s Division of Purchasing. The division has responded by dismissing those protests, thereby paving the way for the state to stay on course in its bid to implement the medical marijuana program.

The companies that protested to the Division of Purchasing are North Star Holdings, Pure UT, Wild West Holding, Tintic United Bioscience, JLPR, and Total Health Sciences. These companies were unhappy that Utah had only selected eight companies yet the law provides for a maximum of ten growers.

However, the Division of Purchasing argued that it took the decision to select only eight cultivators in order to avert the possibility of over-supply in the medical cannabis market. They added that the law allows the division to select any number of cultivators as long as the legal cap isn’t exceeded.

Chris Hughes, the director of Utah’s Division of Purchasing, announced on Wednesday that the companies whose appeals had been dismissed could escalate their protest to the Utah Procurement Policy Board and even go to court if they weren’t satisfied with the decisions made.

Meanwhile, several county attorneys are putting pressure on Utah to abandon its plans of having a state-run medical cannabis dispensary system. They say that the current design of the system will put the employees of the state at the risk of prosecution under the existing drug laws of the federal government.

Troy Rawlings (DA Davis County) and Sim Gill (DA Salt Lake County) insist that using the local dispensaries as points where medical marijuana can be picked up would, in effect, turn the county’s medical department workers into drug traffickers in the eyes of the federal government.

Under Utah’s medical marijuana law, seven private medical marijuana pharmacies will be licensed while a “central fill pharmacy” will be run by the state to supply the private pharmacies with the products they put on their shelves. This “fill pharmacy” function will be implemented through the 13 local health departments.

State officials acknowledge the concerns of the DAs and a meeting has been planned for later this month in order to discuss any alternatives that could sidestep the risks that the district attorneys point out.

Industry analysts believe that the whole industry, including players like Willow Biosciences Inc. (CSE: WLLW) and Wildflower Brands Inc. (CSE: SUN) (OTCQB: WLDFF), will be hoping that the program in Utah doesn’t run into any hurdles that take implementation beyond the planned 2020 launch date.

About CNW420

To receive instant SMS alerts, text CANNABIS to 21000 (U.S. Mobile Phones Only)

For more information please visit https://www.CNW420.com

Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the CannabisNewsWire website applicable to all content provided by CNW420, wherever published or re-published: http://CNW.fm/Disclaimer

Do you have a questions or are you interested in working with CNW420? Ask our Editor

CannabisNewsWire420
Denver, Colorado
http://www.CNW420.com
303.498.7722 Office
Editor@CannabisNewsWire.com

420 with CNW – Michigan Caregivers Grow More than a Million Marijuana Plants

The registered medical marijuana caregivers in Michigan are authorized to grow more than a million cannabis plants, according to state statistics. This information is crucial as the state transitions from a purely medical cannabis program to one that embraces the recreational use of the drug by adults.

Even if the state accelerates the process by which new commercial growers are licensed, it is unlikely that any of those licensees will have harvested, processed and distributed their marijuana crop at the time recreational sales are launched.

In August 2017, Andrew Brisbo, the Director of the Bureau of Medical Marijuana Regulation stated that approximately 43,000 patients had nominated a caregiver to grow a maximum of 12 cannabis plants for the medical use of the patient.

That statistic means that approximately 1.14 million marijuana plants are under the direct control of the registered caregivers in the state.

Currently, the number of caregivers on the medical marijuana program has risen to an estimated 47,000. This could mean that nearly 1.5 million cannabis plants are grown by these caregivers.

To put this figure in context, the 78 commercial cultivators with state-issued licenses have a 108,000 plant cultivation limit.

All the existing large scale growers and the caregivers currently supply the medical marijuana market whose current patient population stands at 300,000 (Michigan has the second strongest medical marijuana market in the country).

If recreational users come on board, the number of medical marijuana patients will be dwarfed by the number of adults who use cannabis recreationally. Statistics suggest that at least 1.54 million Michigan adults have used recreational marijuana at some point in their lives, so once recreational sales begin, the number of recreational users is likely to be five times that of medical marijuana users.

This means that Michigan could face the same supply shortages that have been witnessed in the states that transition from just medical marijuana markets to recreational cannabis as well. Such supply shortages normally trigger a frenzied expansion of cultivation capacity, which in turn causes a glut once all that extra marijuana finally enters the market.

To prevent the nosedive in prices which results from the glut, Michigan would be well advised to incorporate the caregiver-grown marijuana in the recreational market as well so that the recreational market is kept stable during its first months. This shouldn’t present any quality issues since the caregivers have been supplying the medical cannabis market of the state for years.

Analysts hope that the cannabis industry’s major players in Michigan and elsewhere, such as Youngevity International Inc. (NASDAQ: YGYI) and Willow Biosciences Corp. (CSE: WLLW), will welcome the caregivers whose role provides all-round benefits to all concerned.

About CNW420

To receive instant SMS alerts, text CANNABIS to 21000

For more information please visit https://www.CNW420.com

Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the CannabisNewsWire website applicable to all content provided by CNW420, wherever published or re-published: http://CNW.fm/Disclaimer

Do you have a questions or are you interested in working with CNW420? Ask our Editor

CannabisNewsWire420
Denver, Colorado
http://www.CNW420.com
303.498.7722 Office
Editor@CannabisNewsWire.com

420 with CNW – Witnesses and Lawmakers Share Views on Federal Marijuana Policy Reform Strategy

Last week, the Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security sub-committee of the powerful House Judiciary Committee held a landmark session in which they listened to testimony from a variety of experts on how marijuana prohibition could be brought to an end federally.

This hearing was largely focused on evidence, unlike previous Congressional discussions on the matter that largely seemed to be driven by scaremongering. However, there were some disagreements regarding the strategy that should be used to legislate marijuana policy reforms.

For example, Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA) argued that the Democrats were wrongly framing the issue along racial lines and this would divide the country. The Chairperson of the House Judiciary Committee, Jerrod Nadler, responded by saying that marijuana laws had been designed and implemented in a racially disparate manner, so the solution should also emerge after considering the racial factors involved.

Nadler added that in his own opinion, it is ill-advised to use marijuana, but that doesn’t mean the drug should be criminalized. Instead, adults should be left to make informed decisions on the substance as is the case with other substances like alcohol and cigarettes.

While testifying before the subcommittee, Malik Burnett, a physician at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health said that it was wrong to have two widely different situations on the subject of marijuana. He explained that the U.S. can be divided into two, with one half made up of whites who are minting billions from state-legal marijuana while the other half of the U.S. made up of poor people, especially blacks, are arrested in their thousands for the same marijuana that whites are getting rich from.

Marilyn Mosby, the State Attorney for Baltimore also told the subcommittee that the current lopsided enforcement of marijuana laws not only worsens the existing inequalities in the U.S. justice system but also alienates the community from law enforcement agencies. No public safety benefit accrues from the enforcement of marijuana prohibition, she added. She concluded by saying that full legalization is the way to go since decriminalization of marijuana isn’t enough. Mosby’s office is noted for announcing earlier this year that they would no longer prosecute marijuana possession cases.

Davis Nathan, the president of Doctors for Cannabis Regulation (a pro-marijuana legalization group of physicians) testified that the prohibition of marijuana has done more harm than any good that was anticipated. He also said that the drug should never have been criminalized since it is less harmful than tobacco and alcohol.

There was a heated discussion regarding the way in which cannabis reform should be made to happen after Neal Levine, the CEO of Cannabis Trade Federation) suggested that the process should be incremental, starting with the passing of the STATES Act currently before lawmakers.

For example, Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) wondered why full legalization shouldn’t be done in one fell swoop since prohibition had lingered for far too long. Other lawmakers disagreed and preferred the cautious approach of incremental policy adjustments in order to avoid passing bills that ultimately fail once they reach the Republican-controlled Senate.

Industry pundits strongly believe that the cannabis industry, including players like Willow Biosciences Inc. (CSE: WLLW) and Wildflower Brands Inc. (CSE: SUN) (OTCQB: WLDFF), is hoping that concrete action follows this hearing on the modalities of ending marijuana prohibition.

About CNW420

To receive instant SMS alerts, text CANNABIS to 21000

For more information please visit https://www.CNW420.com

Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the CannabisNewsWire website applicable to all content provided by CNW420, wherever published or re-published: http://CNW.fm/Disclaimer

Do you have a questions or are you interested in working with CNW420? Ask our Editor

CannabisNewsWire420
Denver, Colorado
http://www.CNW420.com
303.498.7722 Office
Editor@CannabisNewsWire.com

420 with CNW – Maine Recreational Marijuana Regulations Signed

Back in 2016, voters passed a measure to legalize recreational marijuana in Maine. Since then, residents have been waiting for the state government to draft and pass regulations which would operationalize recreational cannabis cultivation, manufacture and sales. Gov. Janet Mills has now signed the regulations and brings the long wait to an end.

These guidelines will take effect in September and the first recreational cannabis sales could begin early next year.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Gov. Mills remarked that the rules show what can happen when the government works with legislators, industry players and members of the public to attain a common goal. She added that this law brings the state ever so close to making the people’s wish of legalizing recreational marijuana a reality.

One of the clauses in the regulatory framework states that any marijuana company which wishes to be licensed in the state must have a resident who has lived in Maine for at least four years as the majority shareholder with an ownership stake that isn’t less than 51 percent. This requirement will remain in force until June 2021.

The law also contains restrictions on who can sell marijuana in the state. Anyone who has been convicted for any offense related to drugs (even if that drug isn’t marijuana) within the past 10 years and those who have ever had their marijuana license revoked anywhere in the U.S. aren’t eligible for a marijuana sales license in Maine.

Local authorities have also been allowed to decide whether recreational marijuana businesses can open within their jurisdictions or not. So far, only a paltry 15 out of the 455 municipalities in the state have expressed interest in licensing recreational cannabis businesses.

This low interest is understandable from two key perspectives. First, the ballot measure which saw the legalization of marijuana was passed by a slim majority of voters. If voter sentiments haven’t changed much since 2016, it is reasonable to expect that a sizeable number of municipalities (and the residents therein) will be opposed to recreational marijuana.

Secondly, many municipalities have been waiting on the state government to pass the regulatory framework before they can decide whether to opt in or out of the recreational industry. Now that the rules are out, the vast majority of municipalities in this category will make their position known by the time recreational sales officially begin.

Marijuana industry watchers are wondering what industry players like Youngevity International Inc. (NASDAQ: YGYI) and Willow Biosciences Inc. (CSE: WLLW) think about this regulatory framework, which has become law in Maine.

About CNW420

To receive instant SMS alerts, text CANNABIS to 21000

For more information please visit https://www.CNW420.com

Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the CannabisNewsWire website applicable to all content provided by CNW420, wherever published or re-published: http://CNW.fm/Disclaimer

Do you have a questions or are you interested in working with CNW420? Ask our Editor

CannabisNewsWire420
Denver, Colorado
http://www.CNW420.com
303.498.7722 Office
Editor@CannabisNewsWire.com