AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND
Medicinal cannabis trial begins for Australian veterans with PTSD [ABC]
An Australian-first trial using medicinal cannabis to treat returned servicemen and women suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been launched today that targets defence personnel who have not had a response to conventional treatments. The investigation, coordinated by Cannabis Access Clinics, will run over the next 12 months.
Drug driving laws will fail to improve safety, MP says: ‘Thousands will lose their licences’ [Bega District News]
Mr Shoebridge said a major problem with the state’s drug driving laws was that police tested for presence of drugs, not impairment. “Meanwhile, people with highly-intoxicating levels of prescription medications are being waved through at these rest stops, namely benzodiazepines and other prescription drugs.” Mr Shoebridge said crash data from Australia and overseas showed benzodiazepines were one of the most significant drugs contributing to road trauma, other than alcohol, and were significantly higher than others such as ecstasy.
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.
E-Petition: Inquiry into drug driving reform [Parliament of Victoria]
Medican Workshop, 22-23 June 2019, Nimbin NSW [Nimbin Hemp Embassy]
NORTH AMERICA
Colorado passes $1 billion in marijuana state revenue [CNBC]
Colorado already has posted some big numbers: More than $6 billion in total sales of cannabis since the birth of the new industry — over $6.5 billion at the end of May, according to just-released monthly data from the state. And the state’s revenue from adult-use marijuana sales has accelerated.
Oregon House Passes Bill To Transport Cannabis Across State Lines [OPB]
But trading isn’t about to happen anytime soon. Senate Bill 582 includes a number of important restrictions. For example, cross-state transportation would only be allowed between states that have legalized marijuana. But perhaps the biggest restriction in the bill is that cross-border transportation wouldn’t be allowed until the federal government permits it.
California Appeals Court Rules Cannabis Possession in Prison Legal [Courthouse News]
In 2016, voters in the Golden State approved Proposition 64, which made possession of less than an ounce of cannabis legal – even in prison, according to the appeals court.
BUSINESS & POLICY
Canadian Pot Company Introduces So-Called “Pure Cannabis Cigarettes” [Merry Jane]
Canada’s THC BioMed says it will bring the country’s first “cannabis cigarette” to market, with packs of machine-rolled joints that look identical to tailor-made cigs.
Facebook Confirms Ban on CBD and Hemp Advertising [Green Rush Daily]
Despite the decisive bans on pages and ads related to hemp and CBD, Facebook isn’t providing users clear rules or reasoning for its decisions.
Hemp CBD Companies Struggle With Banking Services [Ganjapreneur]
Despite the 2018 federal legalization of industrial hemp, banks are still hesitant to work with hemp-derived CBD companies, many of whom have lost their credit card processing capabilities in recent months.
Ending the ‘war on drugs’ requires justice for the impoverished communities who grow them [Open Democracy]
The drugs trade is often portrayed as populated by wealthy individuals. The reality is poor communities targeted for repression, criminalisation and even the death penalty.
HEALTH & SCIENCE
Experts cast doubt on coroner’s claim woman killed by cannabis in first ever ‘THC overdose’ in US [Independent]
Keith Humphreys, a former policy adviser at the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, told the Advocate that if THC were actually toxic at consumable levels there would likely be many overdose deaths. “We know from really good survey data that Americans use cannabis products billions of times a year, collectively. Not millions of times, but billions of times a year,” Mr Humphreys said. “So that means that if the risk of death was one in a million, we would have a couple thousand cannabis overdose deaths a year.” According to the US National Institute on Drug Abuse, there have been no reports of teenagers or adults dying from cannabis alone, though it can on occasion produce an extreme psychotic reaction.
‘I smuggled cannabis oil to help my son’ [BBC]
Former police officer Lisa Quarrell never imagined she would break the law – but this year she began smuggling a cannabis product into Scotland.
The World’s First Portable, Instant Cannabis Potency Testing Device [Yahoo!]
Named the Purpl PRO, the device brings unprecedented mobility, insight and limitless lab-accurate THC and CBD tests to a market with a glaring need for transparency and accountability.
Endocannabinoid system appears abnormal in psychosis [Healio]
Research published in JAMA Psychiatry revealed that measuring disturbance in the endocannabinoid system, or ECS, in the blood and cerebrospinal fluid may have potential as a biomarker for psychosis.
The No. 1 reason adults want to try legalized cannabis (it’s not to get high) [Market Watch]
One in three (34%) U.S. adults aged 21 and up is interested in using legalized cannabis, but most aren’t looking to just get high, a recent survey by market-research firm Nielsen suggests.
CULTURE & SOCIETY
How to Build a Cannabis Greenhouse in Your Backyard [Leafly]
You’ve been thinking about growing cannabis but the idea of growing indoors, without the sun, seems absurd. On the other hand, you’re pretty sure the unpredictability of Mother Nature will give you an ulcer. You also have nosy neighbors who might gasp at the sight and smell of cannabis. What to do?
Would You Eat this CBD-Infused Burger from Carl’s Jr.? [Marijuana Break]
America’s first commercially sold CBD-infused burger recently went on sale at Carl’s Jr., making them the very first fast-food chain to include CBD on their menu.
Do Anti-Drug Campaigns Actually Work? [Leafly]
In the late 1990s, schools in New York set out to keep their kids safe from drugs. They partnered with a youth program to distribute pencils with an anti-drug slogan that read: “TOO COOL TO DO DRUGS.” This was all well and good until students sharpened their pencils, morphing the message:
Earliest known signs of cannabis smoking unearthed in China [The Guardian]
Incense burners found at 2,500-year-old cemetery suggest intentional use of the plant to get high.
How Moses and the Israelites Used Cannabis [Merry Jane]
They don’t teach you in Sunday school that cannabis appears in the Old Testament but modern scholarship shows that cannabis was used sacramentally by Moses and the ancient Israelites.
EVENTS
Medican Workshop, 22-23 June 2019, Nimbin NSW [Nimbin Hemp Embassy]
Will This Doco Push Medicinal Cannabis Into Mainstream Australia? [Pedestrian]
High as Mike is playing at The Bush Theatre, Nimbin
Saturday 22nd June
Starts at 6.30pm
Tickets $10
The Australian Cannabis Summit, 5-6 July 2019 – Cannabis Education Available to Everyone in Australia [Greendorphin]
We are very excited to announce the first of its kind Australian Cannabis Summit (ACS). Greendorphin Media has teamed up with PlantMed to bring cannabis education to anyone interested for free of charge. The Australian Cannabis Summit is going to be live streamed to your computer, smartphone or tablet screen.
FUNDRAISERS/CAMPAIGNS/PETITIONS/SURVEYS
Gateway to Good Health [Weed Billboards]
The war on drugs and in particular cannabis is well past its use by date in Australia and in an effort to keep the issue on the agenda we have started a weed billboards campaign. Excited that our first billboard is up just north of Grafton in NSW.
It costs $5K for a year, and we’d like to grow weed billboards all around the country. We’d love your help to spread the weed, so there is a gofundme site where you can donate.
Please send in billboard suggestions! We’d like this campaign to support messages from various cannabis and drug law reform groups around Australia, so it would be great to pool resources to create more and more new billboards. We are open to all creative ideas, and any size donations.
We just want an end to being criminals for using one of nature’s absolute gifts.
Celebrating Cannabis [Australian Cannabis Awards]
E-Petition: Legalise cannabis for recreational use [Parliament of Victoria]
Just Reform It! Let’s Get Real about Drugs [The Greens]
Survey: What’s the link between cannabis use and psychotic experiences? [The University of Queensland]
EDUCATION
MardiGrass Hemposium 2019 Talks now Available on YouTube [Hemp Embassy]
EP202 – Roadside Drug Testing Panel at Nimbin Mardi Grass [Enpsychedelia]
‘Sex, Drugs and the Electoral Roll’: MP’s Memoir Goes On Sale [Reason]
Medicinal Cannabis & Hemp Tasmania & “the leaf” Newsletter [Facebook]
Nimbin Medican Workshops on YouTube [Hemp Embassy]
DRUG WAR OVER! [Radio Documentary]
View five new EGA video presentations on ethnobotanical plants and psychedelics [Entheogenesis Australis]
To mark the anniversary of our special gathering and end the year on a high note, we’ve released five new videos of talks from the Psychedelic Symposium that are now available to watch online and can also be found below in this email.