Embassy HEADLINES Issue 386
2019 has been a heady year for the humble weed, and another one to come! See you for the next round of cannabis news in 2020!
NORTH AMERICA
One in five US high school students vaped marijuana in 2019, report says [The Guardian]
Vaping nicotine is still more popular but vaping marijuana grew more quickly, according to survey.
Kentucky Lawmaker Pre-Files Bill to Legalize Pot, Plans to Use Taxes for Pensions [High Times]
Kentucky is generally one of the slower states to adopt progressive cannabis laws. Currently, recreational weed remains illegal. So does medical marijuana. In fact, Kentucky is one of the 17 last states to implement some form of legal medical marijuana program. However, all of that could be changing. This week, a lawmaker in the state pre-filed a new marijuana related bill. If the bill passes into law, it would bring sweeping changes to the state’s currently very restrictive weed laws.
Gay men get first cannabis permit for equity applicants [The Bay Area Reporter]
A married gay couple on Tuesday received the first business permit for equity applicants by San Francisco’s Office of Cannabis for their soon-to-open Castro cannabis retail store, Eureka Sky. They plan to soft open after Christmas.
Canadians bought nearly 100 tonnes of pot in first year of legalization: Health Canada [BNN Bloomberg]
Health Canada said 88,676 kilograms of dried flower cannabis was sold in Canada in the first year of legalization, according to its monthly Cannabis Tracking System. Overall sales of legal dried cannabis by weight have nearly tripled since October of 2018.
Congress Agrees On Funding For FDA Enforcement Of Hemp CBD Products [High Green News]
Federal lawmakers have agreed on a $1.4-trillion government-wide 2020 spending package. The package contains two spending bills, one of which touches on hemp-derived CBD and provides the FDA and USDA with $2 million for research, policy evaluation, market surveillance and issuance of an enforcement discretion policy.
Michigan Issues Product Recall for Failed Vape Cartridges Containing Vitamin E Acetate [Cannabis Business Times]
Michigan’s Marijuana Regulatory Agency (MRA) issued a product recall this week for vape cartridges sold at two Elite Wellness dispensaries in Bay City and Mt. Morris, Mich., as well as distillate products sold to a licensed grower for testing. The distillate sold to the grower had not yet landed on any store shelves. The brands include Cereal Cart and Dank Vape, both of which have been caught up in the rampant vaping-related lung illness story in the U.S. and neither of which is associated with a licensed product manufacturer.
California agency recommends major overhaul to state’s cannabis taxes [High Green News]
The report from California’s nonpartisan Legislative Analyst Office, released Tuesday, Dec. 17, says lawmakers should ditch the way the state currently taxes marijuana and, instead, tax cannabis at different rates based on its potency. Such a tax structure, the report said, would result in stable revenue and discourage cannabis abuse.
Recent Congressional Action More Proof Marijuana Isn’t Going Federally Legal In 2020 [Forbes]
I’ll just give it to you straight: The chances of pot prohibition coming to a screeching halt in 2020 are slim to none. Worse than that even. In fact, you’d have better luck winning a bet on a three-legged horse with Type-2 Diabetes than any scenario where Congress rises above impeachment proceedings and other partisan pud-pulling shenanigans long enough to legalize weed. Call it pessimism, call it a negative view. But that’s just the way it is. There is no way that Congress is going to approach the new year with a more progressive outlook on weed. So, whatever you do, bet against it.
What a Trump/Biden U.S. presidential race could mean for cannabis [High Green News]
The fate of the SAFE Banking Act will be impacted significantly by who U.S. President Donald Trump faces off against in the 2020 election. Trump could see political opportunity in backing the cannabis issue if his opponent is anti-pot.
WORLD
Ireland Approves Two Canadian Firms To Supply Medical Cannabis [CBD Testers]
The Irish Government signed off on the launch of its five-year pilot in June, and now Aurora and MGC Pharmaceuticals have been selected to provide its first cannabis medicine.
Italy’s Senate head halts legalisation of weaker form of cannabis [Times of Malta]
Parliament, while approving an amendment to the 2020 budget last week, okayed the legalisation of cannabis products containing less than 0.5% of the psychoactive compound THC. But in passing the budget early Tuesday, the president of the Senate, Maria Elisabetta Casellati, declared the amendment “inadmissible” on technical grounds. Casellati, who is a member of the centre-right Forza Italia party, said the decision was not politically motivated.
German Medical Cannabis – A Model For Europe, As Prices Fall [CBD Testers]
As patients in other European jurisdictions struggle to access cannabis medicine, Germany is leading the way with over 142,000 prescriptions written in 2018. It is also leading the way in cutting prices with a new wholesale prices of 2.3 euros per gram set to substantially reduce the current cost of medical cannabis.
BUSINESS & POLICY
Let’s Talk About Marijuana Legalization and the Black Market…Again [The Marijuana Times]
The subject of cannabis legalization and how it affects the black market for marijuana is one that is often discussed; in fact, the frequency of its discussion in the media seems to be on the rise. Prohibition supporters like to pretend that cannabis activists claimed the black market would disappear with the advent of legalization, and writers in the mainstream press are more than happy to pick up that talking point and run with it.
Pot firms’ grim reality: Cash crunch, no U.S. bankruptcy access [BNN Bloomberg]
Rather than seek relief through traditional bankruptcy, distressed cannabis companies operating in the U.S. will have to follow state-specific receivership or wind down proceedings.
Cannabis Growers Informing Cultivation Techniques Across the Industry [High Green News]
Cannabis companies are increasingly turning to experienced cannabis growers and industry veterans to design their cultivation operations.
HEALTH & SCIENCE
CBD And THC Oils: How Much Is Actually Getting Absorbed? [The Fresh Toast]
The effectiveness of THC and CBD depends on the method you use to consume them, your body’s make up, and physiological processes.
The Shelf Life of Weed: Do Cannabis Edibles Expire? [Cannabis Now]
Whether purchased from a licensed dispensary or made in your own kitchen, cannabis edibles offer a tasty way to cop a good buzz without the health risks associated with smoking or vaping. But if you look at an edible product closely, you’ll probably notice an expiration or “best by” date printed on the packaging. What does this date mean? Is consuming an edible after its expiration date unsafe? Will it still get you high?
EVENTS
Nimbin Medical Cannabis Workshop [Nimbin]
Australian Industrial Hemp Conference [Fremantle]
The Future of Medicinal Cannabis Conference [Melbourne]
3rd to 4th March 2020, Melbourne
HHI Expo [Canberra]
HHI EXPO – BCEC Brisbane 18 & 19 July
HHI EXPO – Sydney Olympic Park 31 Oct & 1 Nov
Nimbin MardiGrass [Nimbin]
Protest, Educate & Celebrate: 1st – 3rd May 2020
GreenLight: Saving Lives at any Cost
In cinemas from 10 October. In Australia, two men work to provide the last hope of relief — and in some cases cure — for thousands suffering chronic and terminal illnesses. They provide black market medicinal cannabis for people who have nowhere else to turn.
FUNDRAISERS/CAMPAIGNS/PETITIONS/SURVEYS
Senate Inquiry into Current barriers to patient access to medicinal cannabis in Australia [United in Compassion]
I would like to encourage The Hemp Embassy and your networks to consider writing a submission to the Senate Inquiry into barriers to patient access to medicinal cannabis in Australia. This inquiry is the chance for organisations and for all individual medical cannabis users to have input into the failures of the current regulatory framework. The submission date closes on the 17th January 2020.
CBD Survey
Adam Miller from Budding Tech is currently conducting a survey to better understand how and why Australians are accessing/using cannabidiol (CBD). Due to increased popularity, a growing number of CBD products are being sold on the black market. Black market products are untested and could be unsafe due to pesticide and heavy metal contamination. We hope this survey will provide insight into the way Australians are accessing CBD to determine if current regulations are adequate to ensure the safety of the growing number of users. Your answers will be used to help inform and educate members of parliament.
URGENT REVIEW of the medical cannabis delivery system model [MCUA]
Take the necessary steps to initiate an Independent Inquiry by the Australian Advisory Council on the Medicinal Use of Cannabis (AACMC) to review the current delivery system with the view creating a fairer, more affordable delivery model in consultation with the end users.
Scott Morrison (ScoMo): Legalise Recreational Cannabis [Cannabis Club Australia]
Allow Australian adults to grow and consume cannabis legally.
Medical Cannabis Access – Patient Satisfaction Survey [Medical Cannabis Users Association of Australia, MCUA]
MCUA is keen to get feedback on how the government’sMedical Cannabis delivery system is working for Australian patients 3 years after it was implemented. This survey is only open to Australian residents who have have qualified for approval by the TGA under the SAS. We have suggested to the Federal government that a Review / Inquiry be held into the current pharmaceutical delivery system and we want collate the information we get here to use it to demonstrate how well the pharmaceutical model is working for the end user ie the patients. We thank you for participating and appreciate your support.
HELP GROW OUR CANNABIS CAMPAIGN [The Greens]
The ACT took one small step towards legalising cannabis, and already the rapid News Corp media is after them. If we’re ever going to win this fight and #JustLegaliseIt, we need to take them on.
Next stop Canberra – we’re taking the fight to Parliament! [United in Compassion]
When Barnaby Joyce recently showed just how ignorant he was about medicinal cannabis, comparing it to “pulling bongs”, I realised something: the majority of Australians support medicinal cannabis. It’s the politicians who need to be convinced.
Inquiry into drug driving reform [Enpsychedelia]
The National Drug Driving Working Group clearly states that drug driving laws are specifically a driving offense and not a drug offense. Despite this, people who are not impaired, but may still have trace amounts of one of three prescribed substances in their bodily fluid, are frequently charged with a road offense. There is a significant economic and social burden from these unjustified infringements.