Embassy HEADLINES Issue 389

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?

Here’s a link to the inquiry:

https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Community_Affairs/Medicinalcannabis

And here are the terms of reference which you need to address in your submission:

https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Community_Affairs/Medicinalcannabis/Terms_of_Reference

Here is an very clear and easy explanation about how to make a submission:

https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/How_to_make_a_submission

Events coming up in January:

Nimbin Medical Cannabis Workshop

Cannabis Education Session in Maryborough

NORTH AMERICA

American pot is the gold standard. But Canada leads the export game — for now.

Canada has emerged as the dominant exporter in the burgeoning global trade of marijuana, which ArcView Market Research and BDS Analytics estimated at $14.9 billion in sales for 2019.

Illinois recreational marijuana market launches with a roar on 1 January, nearly $3.2M in sales

Recreational marijuana customers line up on Jan. 1 outside a Chicago shop for the first day of legal recreational cannabis sales in Illinois. (Photo by John Schroyer)

Preparing for History: How Illinois Supply & Provisions Planned for the First Day of Adult-Use Cannabis Sales

“We knew that there were going to be long lines, so we did everything we could to entertain folks. We had food trucks, we had a DJ, we handed out coffee and we had hand warmers,” Kiefer says, adding that 30-degree farenheit temperatures [that’s freezing ZERO degrees celcius!] did not deter the enthusiastic patrons.

Illinois Dispensaries Brace for Product Shortages

One week after the launch of legal cannabis sales in the state, Illinois dispensaries are already low on products, forcing some to close and/or stop serving adult-use customers.

Nevada Closes Cannabis Test Lab, Issues Product Warning

Nevada state officials have closed a marijuana testing laboratory and issued a public health warning about tainted strains of cannabis products sold at retail and medical dispensaries in the Las Vegas area, Mesquite and Carson City.

Pennsylvania Readying For Another Big Year Of Hemp

Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture’s 2020 hemp program began accepting applications from commercial growers and processors last week. Last year, 324 farmers in the state planted just over 4,000 acres and the Department is hoping for an even busier season in 2020. In 2019, caps on the number of hemp permits and acreage were lifted.

New Mexico Water Districts Strained by Cannabis Production

At least two rural New Mexico water districts have complained about medical cannabis farms in their area putting a strain on local water supplies.

Hemp Driver Freed After a Month in Texas Jail

A man who was jailed in Texas on federal drug charges has been freed after nearly a month; he was freed when lab tests finally confirmed his 3,350-pound hemp shipment contained less than 0.3 percent THC.

Cannabis among top priorities for New York legislators in 2020

During last year’s session, Democrats — who wrested control of the state Senate from Republicans in the 2018 midterm elections — passed a tsunami of bills long desired by liberals. This year, they are set to tackle complicated and weedy topics that have yet to pass, including paid surrogacy, aid-in-dying, a single-payer health care system, and legalization of recreational cannabis.

Utah picks companies, sites for medical cannabis ‘pharmacies’

Utah health officials plan to award pharmacy licenses to 10 companies to dispense medical cannabis at 14 sites across the state, a major development in the program’s approaching launch. Utah’s medical cannabis program refers to dispensaries as “pharmacies,” emphasizing the program’s medical aspect.

South Dakotans to vote on legalizing recreational marijuana in November election

The measure would legalize, regulate and tax marijuana as well as require the Legislature to pass laws on hemp. South Dakota lawmakers passed a bill in 2019 to legalize industrial hemp, but Republican Gov. Kristi Noem vetoed it. Noem has promised another veto if lawmakers pass a hemp bill in 2020, saying law enforcement can’t differentiate between hemp and marijuana.

Maine hemp farmers want relaxed THC rules, lower fees

Farmers are speaking out against Maine’s plan to adopt stricter, more costly hemp farming rules, urging state agriculture officials to lower licensing costs and not change how they measure the small amount of psychoactive element found in this cannabis crop.

Opioids, pot and criminal justice reform helped undermine this decade’s War on Drugs

With an extraordinary number of Americans suffering, the door has opened to understanding and treating the pain of drug use rather than apply brute force.

WORLD

Trinidad and Tobago set to expunge criminal records as part of new cannabis laws

While Trinidad and Tobago gets on with how best to regulate the production, distribution and consumption of cannabis, the outcome for 505 people who were caught with small amounts of cannabis is now clear. The country is wiping the slate clean.

CULTURE

Football season got you down? Medical marijuana proposed as a treatment

A football fan in Ohio has a great sense of humour. The Ohio State Medical Board confirmed this week it has received a petition to make being either a Cleveland Browns or Cincinnati Bengals fan [American football teams who obviously lose quite regularly] into a qualifying condition for the state’s medical cannabis program.

HEALTH & SCIENCE

Some parents are turning to medical marijuana to treat ADHD instead of Adderall

Some parents who are distressed by the side effects of stimulants are experimenting with medical marijuana, which increases dopamine levels and can help calm racing thoughts.

Specialists warn about risks of cannabis edibles

As cannabis edibles become legal in an increasing number of countries, medical experts are warning people about the possible health risks that these may pose to consumers, as well as their family members.

Hempcrete And Sustainable Construction

What is hempcrete and how can it be a part of sustainable construction in the near future? What’s getting in the way of this great building material’s acceptance?

GARDENING

Does cloning ruin cannabis strains over time?

If you’re a cannabis enthusiast or familiar with the basic principles of botany, you’ll know that cannabis plants come from two sources: seeds and clones. One of the enduring debates among cannabis growers is the merits of growing from seeds versus cultivating from clones.

6 Tips for Cannabis Breeding Success

Make your first ‘cross’ a success by creating a structured breeding program with these 6 tips and a simple, 4-step program.

POLITICS, LAW & BUSINESS

A legal cannabis market can better protect young people from harm

As a young person myself, I can say with absolute conviction that the tough stance on cannabis has not worked and in fact, alienates young people who may have or want to try cannabis.

Traveling to Other States to Buy Legal Marijuana

When it comes to driving under the influence, it can be difficult to test for marijuana impairment because of how the drug stays in a person’s system. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, there’s no national standard for drugged driving like there is for drunk driving.