Embassy HEADLINES Issue 390

AUSTRALIA

Senate Inquiry into Current barriers to patient access to medicinal cannabis in Australia – Submission Deadline is 17 January.

If you’re a medical cannabis user, you might like to consider telling the inquiry about your experience accessing medical cannabis. What barriers have you encountered, and how might this be fixed?

Events coming up in January:

Nimbin Medical Cannabis Workshop

Cannabis Education Session in Maryborough

NORTH AMERICA

Arizona Cultivator Lights Up Sky With Purple Glow

The snow wasn’t the only gift the skies had in store for us this morning. This photo taken from Snowflake, Arizona early this morning showcased purple glow for miles! Huge shout out to resident Cara Smith for sharing her photo. The purple glow is a result of UV lights from nearby medical marijuana farm Copperstate Farms and the snow clouds overhead.

Workers Will Vote Today On Joining Illinois’ First Cannabis Union

Organized labor in the Illinois cannabis world could enter into a new era today. In Joliet, 100 employees at Cresco Labs will vote on whether they will join the United Food and Commercial Workers. Should the yeses outnumber the nos, they will be the first workplace in the state to organize. Bernie Sanders even tweeted his support.

Bill would prevent Colorado employers from firing for off-duty marijuana use

State law already prohibits employers from terminating employees for “lawful off-duty activities, including the off-duty consumption of alcohol,” but that hasn’t extended to cannabis.

Legal Pot Takes a Bite out of Beer Consumption in Canada

Smoke more, drink less. That appeared to be the trend among Canadians in the first full year of legal cannabis, when beer volumes fell by 3% through November, according to data from Beer Canada.

Hawaii’s Decriminilazation Of Marijuana Is In Effect

Hawaii is the 26th state to decriminalize marijuana, even if their policy on the drug is one of the most conservative ones in the country.

Oregon farm regulators seek to hire new hemp investigators

Oregon farm regulators have won approval from a key legislative committee to hire two specialists focused on hemp inspections and enforcement. The Oregon Department of Agriculture has also gotten authorization to fund an assistant water master who’d investigate claims of water law violations by hemp farmers.

New York Governor Renews Push for Cannabis Legalization

Gov. Andrew Cuomo vowed to legalize adult-use cannabis this year during his 2020 State of the State address Jan. 8.

Maine and its Marijuana Market

Back in November of 2016 the people of Maine voted in favor of a referendum that legalized medical and recreational marijuana. The medical marijuana market took off quickly, but recreational marijuana regulatory structures slowed down the process for those interested in the Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). It is now January 2020 and finally the state started accepting applications for recreational retailers.

Florida Lawmakers Want to Protect Patients from Losing Jobs Over Medical Marijuana

With more and more states legalizing cannabis, many run into the issue of how to handle employment drug testing.

San Diego restricts billboard cannabis advertising

The San Diego City Council unanimously approved a ban on marijuana billboard ads within 1,000 feet of schools, playgrounds, day care centers, youth centers and parks with playgrounds, a move supported by local marijuana businesses.

New Jersey court rules company must reimburse medical marijuana costs

In a ruling that could “fortify medical marijuana programs,” the Superior Court of New Jersey decided that workers compensation law requires an employer to reimburse MMJ costs to a worker suffering from chronic pain.

2020 Presidential Candidates on Marijuana: The Ultimate Guide

With support for marijuana legalization stronger than ever before, the issue of cannabis reform is slated to become a prominent issue in the 2020 presidential election.

WORLD

Barbados: Medicinal marijuana licensing ‘to begin next month’

Five months into the life of new legislation to allow the cultivation of medicinal marijuana, investors can start applying for a grower’s licence from as early as next month, Minister of Agriculture Indar Weir has revealed.

Centre for Medicinal Cannabis calls on UK government to review medical cannabis policy

The data from a YouGov survey of 10,602 adults is published in a new report ‘Left Behind – The Scale of Illegal Cannabis Use for Medicinal Intent‘. This survey showed that over 1.4 million people (2.8% of the adult population) are using cannabis to treat chronic health conditions.

Health watchdog pulls CBD off shelves in Finland

The Finnish Food Authority has instructed shops to pull a number of products containing CBD off the shelves as they did not have the proper authorisation to be sold as foodstuffs. Cannabinoid extracts are classified as “novel foods” in the EU and may not be used as foodstuffs without a so-called novel food authorisation. It also outlined that CBD may not be marketed with medical claims.

Thailand rolls out cannabis clinic based on traditional medicine

Thailand opened its first full-time clinic specialising in traditional and alternative cannabis-based medicine on Monday, as part of a move by the government towards developing a medicinal cannabis industry. “This is a pilot clinic, because we cannot produce enough doctors with expertise in cannabis,” Public Health Minister, Anutin Charnvirankul, told reporters at the opening ceremony in Bangkok. Patients will receive treatment free of charge for the first two weeks, he added.

The Moroccan government agrees to discuss draft laws on cannabis cultivation

Six years ago, MPs from the parties of Authenticity and Modernity (PAM) and Istiqlal submitted draft laws on cannabis cultivation in Morocco. The debate on these proposals is back on track as the government agreed to discuss it.

Israeli start-ups to make epigenetic mega-cannabis together

Businesses will invest dozens of thousands of dollars to promote research of the cannabis plant using cutting-edge epigenetics technology to make a version of the cannabis plant that is easier to cultivate and farm by improving the plant’s desirable traits and increasing the efficiency and quality of its growth. Epigenetics is a breeding technology that focuses on revealing hidden parts of the DNA of the plant and enables select genes to manifest themselves.

InterCure gets Israel’s first imported medical cannabis shipment

Canndoc, an Israeli producer of medical grade cannabis, on Sunday received a shipment of 250 kilos of dried whole cannabis flowers that it says will help alleviate a shortage in Israel.

As Brazil readies new cannabis regulatory framework, individual imports still growing strong

The cumulative number of authorizations for individual patients in Brazil to import nonregistered medical cannabis products exceeded 13,000 at the end of September 2019, according to data the country’s health regulator shared with Marijuana Business Daily.

CULTURE

Legal Marijuana States Buying ‘Nasal Rangers’ Because Of Weed’s ‘Stinky Smell’

The “Nasal Ranger” device was developed to confidently measure and quantify odor strength in the ambient air.” Think of it as binoculars for your nose. And yes, it looks as ridiculous as it sounds.

HEALTH & SCIENCE

Breakthrough discovery: cannabis compound 30 times stronger than THC

The team of researchers describe in the report, published in the journal Nature, how they have isolated the two new cannabinoids: THCP (tetrahydrocannabiphorol) and CBDP (cannabidiphorol). THCP binds to the CB1 and CB2 receptors of human’s endocannbinoid system. The scientists suggest that this cannabinoid is potentially 30 times more potent than THC – the known psychoactive component of cannabis.

A Look Inside the First Annual Science of Cannabis Symposium

The Science of Cannabis Symposium held its first annual meeting on November 15, 2019, at Columbia University in New York City. The conference welcomed both clinicians and legal experts and aimed to provide medical and legal education for healthcare providers who are considering the use of cannabis in their medical practice.

The entourage effect: How cannabis compounds may be working together

Take a close look at your cannabis buds. They’re covered in sticky, shining dots of resin, and in this resin are hundreds of therapeutic compounds that contribute to the effects and benefits of cannabis. This theory that various cannabis compounds work together to create unique effects and benefits has been coined “the entourage effect.”

Study Finds Long-Term Heavy Cannabis Use May Impair Driving

Researchers say poor driving performance in non-intoxicated drivers means heavy cannabis use impairs cognition.

Driving and Marijuana Impairment

In 2015, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, found that while drunken driving dramatically increased the risk of getting into an accident, there was no evidence that using marijuana heightened that risk.

Does marijuana actually ruin your memory?

In the short term, marijuana hinders your learning ability, but doesn’t seem to cause long-term impairment.

Study: CBD May Help Cancer Drugs Kill Certain Cancer Cells

Colorectal cancers shrink and die when exposed to CBD and TRAIL treatment, researchers in South Korea find.

GARDENING

‘Big Cannabis’ Technologically Ahead Of Its Times

The Aurora Sky farm in Alberta, Canada, for example, has reached near science-fiction levels of sophistication – it’s an 800,000-square-foot hybrid greenhouse where robotic arms hoist massive pallets of plants on to cranes and conveyor belts while inspection drones buzz overhead – but alas in such a highly regulated market there aren’t enough distribution outlets to absorb such mass production.

POLITICS & LAW

Why is Marijuana Illegal? A Look at the History of MJ in America

Cannabis was at one point freely cultivated and used in the U.S. What happened? Here we take a look at the history of marijuana law in America.

Why marijuana prosecutions are declining across the U.S.

Though marijuana-related arrests have risen in recent years, those cases aren’t being prosecuted at the same rate.

USA Federal Government panel set to examine federal marijuana policies

A House panel on Wednesday is set to examine some of the barriers to marijuana research amid a growing disconnect between federal and state policies. The chairwoman of the House Energy and Commerce health subcommittee, said she wants to hear officials at the Food and Drug Administration and the Drug Enforcement Agency explain why the federal government is potentially blocking research into the effects of marijuana.

BUSINESS

ECS Botanics scores Woolworths distribution deal for hemp-based soups

Hemp food company ECS Botanics (ASX: ECS) has landed a distribution deal with Woolworths that will see a range of hemp-based soups stocked on the supermarket’s shelves including Mexican Spiced Bean Soup with Hemp and its Indian Masala Lentil Soup with Hemp.

Need a ride? It’s on us

MedMen is proud to extend its free ride service to select California and Nevada locations. Let us schedule a ride for you to any of our available stores. It’s as easy as…
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2. Provide your name, location, and phone #.
3. Uber will drive you to California and Nevada’s best cannabis dispensary!