Tony Rossi: What restrictions should be placed on medical cannabis? [The Advertiser]
I think the community is ready to accept the use of medicinal cannabis in a regulated regime which does not put members of the public at risk. That would involve appropriate regulations to control the type of cannabis permitted for medicinal purposes and a form of accreditation for doctors to ensure that it is appropriately prescribed, having regard to the individual concerned and that any relevant restrictions in activity are clearly addressed.
Australia’s largest hemp & cannabis event heads to Melbourne [Hydroponics]
The Hemp Health & Innovation (HHI) Expo & Symposium is everything hemp and cannabis. With a bigger venue and hemp foods officially legal for sale and consumption in Australia from Nov 12, HHI Melbourne will be Australia’s first large scale opportunity to sample, purchase and taste hemp foods.
High protein hemp finds favour with Sunshine Coast chickens [ABC]
A plumber and equine scientist are combining forces to create a new chicken food made entirely out of cannabis. And the chooks are gobbling it up. Six months ago, after a friend told them about its health properties, Joel McCarthy and fiancé Ely Meggitt started experimenting with hemp, which is made from the cannabis plant. “We started testing the stuff at home with our own chooks,” Mr McCarthy said.According to the pair, not only did the chickens love eating it, but it seemed to boost their health, even creating “glossier coats”.
Hemp House is Built of Rammed Earth, Timber and Hempcrete Walls [Home World Design]
Hemp House, a dual occupancy home for three generations to explore co-housing, was built in a combination of rammed earth, timber and Hempcrete walls. It created a very beautiful and healthy environment; pulling it all together involved courage and adventure which for all ended up being a very rewarding experience.
86% of California Cannabis Clones Contain Pesticides [Stuff Stoners Like]
A recent study by our buds over at Steep Hill Labs in Berkeley proves that a majority cannabis clones sold here in California are contaminated with pesticides—whether through direct use or via cross-contamination. Exactly how many clones are filled with pesticides? According to the “Study of Pesticides in Cannabis Plant Clones” only 14 percent of the 124 randomly selected clones that the firm tested showed no detectable pesticides—meaning that 86% of all clones here in California are contaminated.
Majority of Utah’s “Active” Mormons Support Medical Marijuana [Marijuana]
Apparently, Jon Huntsman Sr. is not alone in his devout beliefs or his support of medical marijuana. According to a new poll, a majority of Utah’s “active” members of the Mormon church are joining Huntsman in his support of the medicinal herb. Organized by UtahPolicy.com and tallied by Dan Jones & Associates, the survey was conducted from Aug. 30 to Sept. 5, 2017, and queried 608 registered voters. The results from the poll showed 63 percent of Utah’s “active” members of the Mormon church support medical marijuana.
American Legion Fires Back At VA Secretary Over Medical Marijuana [The Fresh Toast]
The American Legion is mad as hell and is not taking it anymore. This week, the nation’s largest wartime veterans service organization, urged the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to get serious about supporting research into marijuana’s therapeutic benefits in treating PTSD.
Trump Extends Cannabis Protections ‘Til December As Plans For Study, States Remain Hazy [Forbes]
In his temporary budget-dealing with Democrats, President Trump has agreed to continue a ban on using federal funds to interfere in states’ legal cannabis practices, but as 2018 nears, a government stance is largely still up in the air.
Policing pot: What Denver can teach cities like Ottawa [CBC]
Denver used a dedicated tax to fund extra policing expenses from impaired driving to black market.
Russian Government Says ‘Marijuana Use’ Caused Morgan Freeman to Speak Out Against Election Interference [Civilized]
The Russian media also said Freeman is probably not in the right state of mind, which is why he appeared in the video. They said he’s most likely suffering from a “excessive workload” and “marijuana use.” One TV host went so far as to say, “I think, the grandpa just got drunk.”
Washington State Releases Update On Legalization Findings – High Hopes Are Rewarded [NORML]
In their second formal assessment on the impact of legalization in the wake of the implementation of I-502, the Washington State Institute for Public Policy (WSIPP) issued the next regularly scheduled report – and suffice to say, the news was very positive, unless you are still relying on tired and debunked prohibitionist talking points.
Canada’s top dope producer to double crop [News]
Canada’s biggest licensed producer of medical marijuana – which also has an interest in Australian company AustCann – has bought land next to its greenhouse production site that will allow it to more than double the total volume of cannabis it can grow, its chief executive says. Canopy Growth Corp’s Tweed Farms Inc subsidiary expects to spend at least $CAD25 million ($A25.6 million) to upgrade the property, a flower farm it purchased for about $CAD9 million in cash and equity, with work including the installation of security cameras and fences due to start in October.
University to offer post-graduate course in marijuana production [Evening Standard]
A Canadian university says it will be the first to offer a post-graduate diploma in cannabis production, as the Canadian government aims to legalise the drug by next year. Niagara College in Ontario will launch a graduate certificate programme in the commercial production of marijuana in autumn 2018. The university says the year-long course will prepare students to work in the licenced production of cannabis, which includes marijuana, hemp fibre and hemp seed, Global News Canada reported.
Plans for medicinal cannabis in Jersey ‘by the end of the year’ [ITV]
Jersey’s Health Minister says he hopes medicinal cannabis will be available in the island by the end of the year.
UK Royal College Of General Practitioners. Draft Council Paper – Cannabis For Specified Medical Indications [CLEAR]
It is proposed that the RCGP works with a number of other organisations (e.g. MS Society, Newcastle University) to produce a GP information booklet which offers balanced and reasonable advice on the appropriate use of cannabis, bearing in mind of course, that natural cannabis and the main psychoactive component, THC, remain generally illegal.
Cannabis Legalisation Bill Proposed in Icelandic Parliament [Talking Drugs]
On September 20, MP Pawel Bartoszek proposed a bill that would legally regulate the cultivation, transportation, sale, and use of cannabis, and allow the creation of retail stores and cafes where cannabis could be bought and consumed. The proposal also denotes strict regulations for the envisioned legal cannabis market; sale and use would be restricted to those aged 20 and over, alcohol would be prohibited in venues that sell cannabis, and advertising of cannabis products would be banned. Additionally, cannabis products would be sold in plain-packaging which would include clear details of health risks; a practice already enforced for tobacco products in many countries. As Bartoszek has said, the regulations in his bill are based on guidance in How to Regulate Cannabis: A Practical Guide, a publication from UK drugs thinktank Transform.
Switzerland Keeps Leading The Cannabis Revolution in Europe as it Decriminalizes Possession of Small Amounts [Greendorphin]
The Swiss government has been applying an increasingly common sense approach to its marijuana policy and now, with the latest move by the Swiss, possession of up to 10 grams of cannabis for own consumption has been decriminalized. Frankfurt based cannabis journalist, Marguerite Arnold has published a detailed overview of the Swiss cannabis reform, and its potential to become the ‘Colorado of Europe’. Since then, Swiss supermarkets started to sell a tobacco and cannabis mix cigarette, called Heimat.
Peru Set To Legalize Medical Cannabis After Public Outcry [CannaTech]
Following a serious public outcry in Peru, the South American country just announced that it is drafting legislation to set up a wide-reaching medical cannabis program. The Congressional Committee on National Defence in Peru has agreed to the new bill, which will include a framework for medical cannabis. While officials there are not interested in legalizing dried flower cannabis, they are looking to cannabis oil extracts, which could be used to treat patients with cancer, epilepsy and Parkinson’s. Peruvians grew frustrated after cops there raided a makeshift cannabis laboratory in Lima, the capital city. This lab was being used by mothers who were extracting cannabis to treat their babies with. A poll which followed that raid found that 65 percent of Peruvians believe cannabis should be legalized for medical use.
Wildly grown marijuana in India [Media India Group]
In many small towns in the north Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, one can find marijuana growing by the roadside, and rather wildly so. The unwanted growth of leaves just occurring there, with no one to claim the otherwise highly prized greens. As one goes deeper from the towns to the small villages, these plants are be found growing in backyards, house lawns, and even in kitchen gardens, alongside tomatoes and chillies!
Taking Drugged Driving Seriously: What Does the Science Say? [Leafly]
Compared to sober drivers, THC-impaired drivers have a 5% greater risk of crashing. Alcohol-impaired drivers under the legal limit (.08) have a 225% greater risk.
Prohibition is Harm Maximisation [UKCIA]
For many years now, Transform Drug Policy, a law reform campaign which isn’t cannabis focused and which campaigns for the end of prohibition across the board for all drugs, has taken the view that the reason to legalise drugs isn’t because they’re safe, but because they’re dangerous. The logic is simple; the more dangerous a drug is, the more important it is to properly control and regulate the trade. But it was never an argument a lot of cannabis campaigners were going to be happy with because it sort of implies the safer a drug is, the less need there is to legalise it.
Breaking memory circuits with marijuana [MedicalXpress]
Paranoia. Munchies. Giggles. Sleepiness. Memory loss. Although the effects of cannabinoids–the active components of marijuana–are familiar to many, their neurobiological substrates are poorly characterized. Perhaps the effect of greatest interest to both neuroscientists and to cannabis users hoping to preserve their cognitive function, is short-term memory impairment that often accompanies marijuana use. Our partial understanding of its physiological and behavioral effects is not for want of studies into its neural effects. Ample research has shown a range of changes to neurotransmission, receptors, ion channels and mitochondria following cannabinoid exposure. However, knowledge of its cellular and molecular properties alone cannot offer a complete picture of its system-wide effects leading to cognitive and behavioral changes. A recent study published in PLOS Computational Biology took a novel approach to address this issue, combining computational modeling with electrophysiological brain recordings from rats performing a memory task, to unravel the dynamics of neural circuits under the influence of cannabinoids.
New Study: Δ9-THCA Has Potent Neuroprotective Properties [Marijuana]
THCA (Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol), the most abundant non-psychoactive cannabinoid found in marijuana, has demonstrated its potent neuroprotective ability in a recent study. Published in the British Journal of Pharmacology, the Spanish study conducted at Instituto Maimónides de Investigación Biomédica de Córdoba (IMIBIC), in Córdoba, Spain, found Δ9-THCA is a worthy treatment option for those suffering from debilitating neurodegenerative diseases.
One-fourth of cancer patients use cannabis, study reveals [News Medical]
New research conducted in a cancer center in a state that had legalized the use of recreational and medicinal cannabis shown that about one-fourth of surveyed cancer patients used cannabis in the previous year, mostly for psychological and physical symptoms. The study also indicated that legalization increased the likelihood of a rise of cannabis use among cancer patients.
The Big List Of Cannabis Cannabinoids [Hemp Gazette]
Much of the information we provide on Hemp Gazette is in relation to the two best-known and probably most researched cannabinoids – cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). But there’s so much more – cannabis has a very complex cannabinoid profile.
Portland State study links cancerous toxins to cannabis extract [EurekAlert!]
Researchers at Portland State University found benzene and other potentially cancer-causing chemicals in the vapor produced by butane hash oil, a cannabis extract.
Cannabis Has Always Been a Medicine [Reality Sandwich]
Cannabis is one of the most investigated therapeutic substances in history. More than 20,000 studies and reviews regarding cannabis have been published in scientific literature, and the vast majority prove that its active ingredients are uniquely safe and effective. Side effects are relatively mild and short-acting, and there is no lethal dose. You could theoretically die of carbon-monoxide poisoning if you inhaled enough smoke, but nobody has ever died from ingesting too much cannabis.
Drug induced deaths at highest rate since late 90s [Australian Bureau of Statistics]
Australia recorded the highest number of drug-induced deaths since the late 1990s, with the death rate steadily increasing over a decade and now at 7.5 deaths per 100,000 Australians – data released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) shows. “There were 1,808 drug induced deaths in 2016, with those deaths most commonly associated with Benzodiazepines and Oxycodone,” James Eynstone-Hinkins, Director of Health and Vital Statistics at the ABS said. “These are both prescription drugs which are used to manage anxiety and pain respectively.” Death rates from illicit drugs have also increased. The death rate from Psychostimulants, which include methamphetamines and the drug ‘ice’, have quadrupled since 1999. They are now the third most common substances associated with drug deaths, with heroin being the fourth most common.
Brazil Deploys Army to Rio Favela Caught in Crosshairs of Drug War [High Times]
Brazil’s ongoing favela wars have taken a dramatic turn for the bloody, prompting the government to send military troops into Rio de Janiero’s notorious Rocinha. This is the most violent of the city’s sprawling favelas—informal urban settlements virtually abandoned by the government for anything other than militarized anti-drug operations. On Sept. 22, the army deployed nearly 1,000 troops to Rocinha, responding to a request from the Rio state government, Defense Minister Raul Jungmann told local TV.
Malaysia to remove mandatory death penalty for drugs [Asian Correspondent]
Cabinet agreed unanimously on Monday to amend the colonial-era Dangerous Drugs Act of 1952 to do away with mandatory capital punishment for drug traffickers and allow judges discretion in sentencing, but the decision must still be approved by Parliament. The Malaysian Bar association welcomed the move, however, said it was of the view the death penalty should be removed for all offences, irrespective of the crime that may have been committed. The death penalty has no place in a society that values human life, justice and mercy.
Harris County DA Stops Prosecuting Drug Cases Involving Minuscule Amounts [Houston Press]
“It’s been a point of contention with most Houstonians who don’t appear to agree that it’s a wise use of taxpayer dollars to prosecute people in possession of empty crack pipes that contain drug residue,” Ogg said. “And while not all the cases follow that example, many, many do. There were approximately 2,000 to 4,000 per year.”
The New Landscape of Cannabis: Products for Recreational and Medicinal Consumers [Evolver Learning Lab]
Discover the many products and methods of consumption for both medicinal and recreational use in the cutting-edge scene of cannabis. STARTS THURSDAY, OCTOBER 19. REGISTER NOW! Cannabis is one of the world’s most profound sacred plants. With its new-found legislative liberation in parts of the United States, the industry is exponentially growing, and the cannabis scene is being transformed by new science and social practices. It is medicine. It is transformational. It is a career. It is an obsession. And because it has been hidden from public view, it is also a scene plagued by wildly incorrect “facts” and woeful misinformation. Join Max Montrose for the 4-part live, interactive video course which will separate the rumors from the truth, and introduce you to the latest, exciting innovations.
New Druglawed film released! [Druglawed]
“Druglawed: Spokeswoman” has just been released. The production crew wants to thank all the fine Australians who supported this production! Special thanks go out to the good folk of Nimbin and the Nimbin Hemp Embassy. “Spokeswoman” is filmed on location in Sydney, Melbourne and Nimbin, featuring outspoken Member of Parliament Fiona Patten, the firebrand civil libertarian who is campaigning for an end to the War on Drugs. Also featured are Law Enforcement Against Prohibition campaigner Greg Denham, high-profile medical cannabis patient Ben Oakley, and the provider of his life-saving cannabinoid medicine, Jenny Hallam. Andrew Kavasilas, pioneering Nimbin hemp researcher, co-stars in the film, which showcases some of the celebratory scenes at Nimbin MardiGrass 2017. “Spokeswoman” can be downloaded for $4.20, all proceeds go towards funding post production of the final chapter of Druglawed Series 2, which was filmed in Uruguay. Click this link to download the film: https://druglawed.vhx.tv/buy/druglawed-2-episode-3-spokeswoman
Petition: Please help desperate terminally-ill and sick patients — medicinal cannabis is blocked [change.org]
The laws are so broken that just 18 sick patients have managed to access medicinal cannabis in NSW. I need your help now by signing my petition. I’ve spoken with NSW Health Minister personally about fixing the broken medicinal cannabis laws. But the government still hasn’t fixed these laws blocking doctors and patients from accessing medicinal cannabis, in fact it has added to them.
Family Friendly Fun Day For Paul Lawrence & family [MCUA]
10am 8 October, Fairy Meadow Bowls & Rec Club, Fairy Meadow NSW. This event is to raise funds to assist Paul and his family. This epic journey Paul has undertaken with his health has drained the family and taken a toll financially and emotionally on them all. Paul has remained stanch and independent in this battle and has been a strong voice as a cannabis advocate. The MCUA has made this event on Paul’s behalf so we can get the word out on social media to all who know and love him and invite them to attend. The day will commence at 10am with Barefoot Bowls til 12md. There are activities planned throughout the afternoon including Raffles & Silent Auction & Games during the afternoon. Paul assures me Club Bistro serves a nice lunch and says he will be there from 12.30 till as long as he can last..
Seedlings 2017: Medical Cannabis Event [BuddingTech]
Mon. 16 October 2017 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm Tank Stream Labs Level 4 17-19 Bridge Street Sydney – We are proud to announce that we will be hosting our second Seedlings event on the 16th of October. Last year, Seedlings was launched and was noted as a resounding success highlighting the key challenges and opportunities that exist in the medical cannabis industry. This year we are putting together a smaller, more intimate event. We invite you to spend the evening with us learning about innovation and the latest advancements in the medical cannabis industry. Please note there are only 100 tickets available. This event will also include food and drinks. Book now before tickets are sold out.
EGA 2017 third program announcement plus the infamous raffle now up and running [Entheogenesis Australis]
Entheogenesis Australis 2017 Outdoor Psychedelic Symposium, 8th – 10th of December, Eildon Victoria It is our absolute pleasure to share with you Entheogenesis Australis (EGA’s) greatly anticipated third program announcement. We are also letting you know that the infamous EGA technicolour raffle is now open. EGA’s psychedelic symposium brings together a formidable panel of experts in the area of psychedelic studies from Australia and around the world. The lecture program forms the backbone of what will be the most comprehensive and exciting conference of its kind in Australasia. There will also be a broad range of lectures, panels, a market space and an arts program to give balance to the content-heavy lecture and workshop programs. The third program announcement listed below has information about workshops, group-based healing modalities, PRISM research track and the bonus Monday programming at the EGA campground. To see the outstanding full list of more than 50 EGA lectures – Click Here – Tickets to the 2017 Psychedelic Symposium are strictly limited to 500 and are available as pre-sale only. With less than 150 tickets remaining, please secure your ticket soon, as tickets will sell out. We hope very much to see you in December for this unique conference gathering. Buy your ticket now – www.entheogenesis.org/tickets