Embassy HEADLINES Issue 377
Embassy HEADLINES Issue 377

Embassy HEADLINES Issue 377

AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND

A growing number of Australians want marijuana legalised [Roy Morgan]

New research from Roy Morgan shows increasing numbers of Australians across all age groups want to legalise marijuana – although 49% remain opposed.

Federal Government wants to see ‘evidence’ legalising cannabis is a good idea [ABC]

Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt has penned a letter to ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr, calling on him to produce any evidence he considered before supporting the legislation, regarding the health impacts of cannabis.

Tasmanian Churchill Fellowship recipient to develop expertise in hemp cultivation and manufacturing [Mirage News]

Tim Crow is one of 115 recipients of the prestigious Churchill Fellowship award, and will develop further expertise in the cultivation, manufacturing, science, and policy of hemp and will travel to Nepal, India, Israel, Ukraine, Netherlands, Canada and USA. Mr Crow is the owner of Hemp Harvests, the only hemp seed processing facility in Tasmania. He has been involved in the hemp industry for over five years as a grower, processor and advisor to the Hemp Association of Tasmania.

Medicinal cannabis supplies in NZ depleted [NZ Doctor]

For the second time in as many months, medicinal cannabis supplies in New Zealand have been depleted. Two of the main Cannabidiol (CBD) products generally available in New Zealand are out of stock. Neither of the products are expected to have stock until the end of November at the earliest. These products are from different sources, with both Swiss and Canadian products affected.

‘Duty bound to speak’: Surgeons say no to ACT cannabis laws [The Canberra Times]

Top secret medicinal cannabis facility somewhere in regional NSW [Nambucca Guardian]

A new $10 million study into medicinal cannabis will be undertaken at a top-secret research facility in regional NSW. Minister for Agriculture, Adam Marshall, said the research study was the result of a collaboration between the NSW and Commonwealth governments, the Cann Group Ltd, Southern Cross University, Aglive and the University of Newcastle.

Debate: Should cannabis be legalised? [The People’s Forums]

The topic of cannabis legalisation has long been contested. Currently, governments generally opt to ban its usage given potential adverse effects and adopting a hardline policy against substance use. However, some governments are choosing to legalise it to minimise harm associated with its usage and medicinal benefits.

NSW coroner to recommend pill testing be introduced at music festivals [The Guardian]

Report to also recommend end to police sniffer dogs and body searches, as premier Gladys Berejiklian urged not to ‘hide from the evidence’.

Medical Cannabis Weekend October 26/27 [Nimbin Hemp Embassy]

There’s a full program lined up says Nimbin HEMP Embassy President Michael Balderstone. “And as a special treat the new movie Green Light about a couple of local intrepid medical cannabis providers will be shown on the Saturday evening, with at least one of them speaking and answering questions.”

NORTH AMERICA

Canada’s legal cannabis market – one year on [Transform]

17th October 2019 marks the one year anniversary of Canada’s establishment of legally regulated adult market for non-medical (recreational) cannabis. Canada follows Uruguay and 11 US States in legalising cannabis for recreational use, and is the first commonwealth country and G7 member to do so. 

Colorado’s largest cannabis grower loses millions of dollars in early freeze [Marijuana Business Daily]

The largest marijuana grower in Colorado disclosed it lost millions of dollars during an early winter storm after half the company’s plants froze before harvest could be completed. The crop loss in Southern Colorado is expected to send ripples throughout the state’s cannabis supply chain, reducing the supply of marijuana available to retailers and processors.

FBI Investigating Possible Public Corruption In Sacramento’s Cannabis Industry [High Times]

Federal prosecutors have indicted four people for directing foreign funds into campaign donations and marijuana businesses, including two men who have ties to Trump’s personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani.

How Silicon Valley Is Helping Overturn Marijuana Convictions [The Fresh Toast]

Marijuana expungement is an often laborious, bureaucratic process, but algorithms have eased the process.

Bill Would Remove Cannabis Possession As Grounds For Deportation [High Times]

The Remove Marijuana from Deportable Offenses Act would amend U.S. law so that possession of cannabis could no longer lead to the deportation of an undocumented immigrant.

For sale: Two Florida medical marijuana licenses. Cost? $95 million [Tampa Bay Times]

One license is going for $40 million and allows the owner to operate no more than 30 retail stores. The other license is selling for about $55 million, with the rights to open up to 35 retail stores. In addition to the actual license, this deal includes a greenhouse for cultivation.

‘Gold standard’ bill to legalize recreational weed in Pennsylvania [The Philadelphia Inquirer]

Two Pennsylvania state senators introduced Senate Bill 350 in Harrisburg on Tuesday and it contains just about everything a cannabis advocate would love. There are provisions for growing cannabis at home, expungement of all cannabis criminal records, pizza-like delivery of marijuana to your door, and a bar-to-entry set so low that just about any Pennsylvanian could enter the trade as a grower or a retailer.

Grey market cannabis sellers undercutting legal market in Canada [Global News]

Online grey market cannabis sellers are competing with the legal market by undercutting it and offering deep volume discounts, data released by Statistics Canada shows.

Health Canada releases final regulations for new classes of cannabis [Osler]

In 2018, Canada legalized the sale of five classes of cannabis. This year will now see the addition of three new permitted classes of cannabis: (a) edible cannabis, (b) cannabis extracts, and (c) cannabis topicals.

Number of pot jobs in Illinois to grow to 63,000 by 2025 [Chicago Sun Times]

That will be a huge increase from the current number working — legally — in the medical marijuana industry.

Recreational marijuana legalization in New Mexico [Marijuana Business Daily]

New Mexico would use proceeds from recreational marijuana to provide low-interest loans to small cannabis businesses and eliminate taxes on medical cannabis under a legalization proposal from an expert panel.

WORLD

U.K. Home Office grants licence to grow high-THC cannabis in Somerset [Grimsby]

The drug will be used for medical tests and multiple crops will be grown at a secure site.

Brazil again delays vote on regulating cannabis cultivation and products registration [Marijuana Business Daily]

Brazilian health regulators unexpectedly postponed another vote on a groundbreaking proposal to regulate the cultivation and registration of cannabis-based medicines, delivering a further blow to efforts to open up fresh business opportunities in Latin America’s largest medical cannabis market.

Medical cannabis to be promoted in Bermuda [The Royal Gazette]

A group of doctors and pharmacists have joined forces to promote the use of medical cannabis. Now the Bermuda Medicinal Cannabis Association is to meet with the Government next month to offer its expertise as Bermuda prepares legislation to allow use of the drug for patient treatment.

South Africa hands out first commercial licence to grow cannabis [The Growth Op]

The Polkadraai Strawberry farm will be allowed to grow 20 tonnes of cannabis, but will not be allowed to create any products for sale or consumption.

UK Licenses Canopy Growth for Bulk Medical Cannabis Imports [Ganjapreneur]

Canopy Growth’s pharmaceutical division, Spectrum Therapeutics, has been granted a license to import bulk medical cannabis into the United Kingdom. It’s the first such license issued by the Home Office and will allow the company to import cannabis from its facilities in Germany and Denmark. The UK’s medical cannabis program is extremely limited, and it can only be prescribed when all other treatments have failed. Canoopy Growth was “not even looking” at recreational cannabis opportunities in Europe.

Nothing has changed since I was sacked. Drugs policy still doesn’t work [The Guardian]

My “mistake” 10 years ago was to argue that UK drug policy was politically rather than scientifically based. It seems that nothing has changed in the past decade: evidence still takes second place to politics with regard to drug policy decisions.

Mexican Leader Says Marijuana Will Be Legalized This Month [Marijuana Moment]

That would mean that lawmakers are expecting to meet a Supreme Court deadline to end federal cannabis prohibition. Last year, the court ruled that the country’s ban on personal possession, use and cultivation of marijuana was unconstitutional and said the government must formally legalize those activities by October. Many key lawmakers have said the country should go even further by legally regulating cannabis sales and production as well.

Cannabis smokers will register with State under proposed reform [Malta Today]

Will 2019 bring with it a shift in the way Malta thinks about cannabis? Julia Farrugia Portelli, the parliamentary secretary piloting the reform, says Malta will be creating its own model based on the local context.

The UK’s messy CBD oil industry is finally starting to clean up its act [Wired]

Poor testing standards and lax regulation means that some CBD products in the UK have illegal levels of THC or no CBD at all. Now the industry is starting to regulate itself.

BUSINESS & POLICY

Cannabis advertising firm Weedmaps cuts 100-plus jobs [Marijuana Business Daily]

California marijuana advertising giant Weedmaps announced Wednesday it laid off 25% of its workforce, blaming the slow rollout of recreational marijuana markets in California and Massachusetts and a dwindling pool of outside funding.

Is CBD oil legal and is it the same as smoking cannabis? [Wales Online]

Millions of Brits believe CBD oil is illegal in the UK, according to research. The oil, said to help promote sleep, ease chronic pain, and reduce stress and anxiety, is legal in the UK as it doesn’t contain THC – a compound with psychoactive effects. But two thirds of people believe it is banned. And eight in 10 think the effect of taking the naturally-derived oil is the same as smoking cannabis. More than half also said they would judge a friend or family member negatively if they knew they took CBD.

Europe could lose more ground in the medicinal cannabis industry [Health Europa]

There is a reluctance by some European policy and law makers to embrace the economic potential of medicinal cannabis and as a result they are seeing opportunities lost to more progressive markets. Europe could lose more ground following Lesotho and Zimbabwe’s decisions to allow cultivation of medicinal cannabis for mass export.

Farm to freezer: Why ‘fresh-frozen’ is taking over the cannabis harvest [Leafly]

Over the last six years, the idea of freezing part—or all—of one’s cannabis harvest has gone from bizarre to mandatory in the USA. A full 30% of Alien Labs’ coveted new strain Planet Dosi is heading straight from outdoor fields into the freezer this year.

AI helping booming cannabis industry evolve even faster [GreenCamp]

Humans are getting extra help in farming cannabis – his name is William and he’s an AI robot.

Researchers & Policymakers Grapple With Medical Implications Of Cannabis [Health Policy Watch]

A stronger research agenda for cannabis is urgently required to guide European health policymakers through a bewildering maze of medical and recreational cannabis and cannabinoid products that are fast emerging on the European market.

Big pharma and medicinal cannabis – friends or foes? [EPM Magazine]

Rich Quelch, global head of marketing at pharmaceutical packaging provider Origin, discusses  the rise in medicinal cannabis and what it means for the pharma market.

The Great Race to Become the World’s Weed Supplier [Cannabis Now]

The big play in cannabis may be the global export game. Is the time to get in now?

Pesticide maker bans its own product due to cannabis stigma [Leafly]

Three products were removed from the list of pesticides approved for use on cannabis in Washington state earlier this month. Commercial cannabis growers are not allowed to use any pesticides not on the list. When Leafly reached out to the Washington State Department of Agriculture to find out why the products were banned, we got a surprising answer: The makers of the pesticides had requested to be taken off the list because they didn’t want their brand to be associated with cannabis.

HEALTH & SCIENCE

Marijuana impairment lingers longer than intoxication [Fleet Owner]

Cannabis has different effects than alcohol and while more U.S. residents are gaining the legal right to light up, trucking wants the focus to be on safety.

These $1 Tablets Could Be the Future of Cannabis [Gear Patrol]

The Dose Dial is pocket-sized cannabis tablet dispenser. Each $30 dispenser holds 30, 3.7mg dissolving peppermint-flavored tablets inside.

Leave a Reply