Embassy HEADLINES Issue 350
AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND
Tony Bower fronts Port Macquarie District Court on drugs charges [Macquarie Port News]
Mr Bower, who has provided medicinal cannabis to hundreds of families across Australia for chronic pain relief and terminal illness management, was arrested and charged with cultivating prohibited plant, dealing in the proceeds of crime, possessing a prohibited drug and supplying prohibited drug after police executed a raid on a property near Kempsey last year. He pleaded guilty to the offences.
MP calls for Queenslanders to be allowed to grow cannabis for personal use [The Sydney Morning Herald]
Medicinal cannabis will be easier to access in Queensland with new laws passing Parliament but people should be able to grow their own, a Greens MP argues.
Exclusive: ‘I’m a criminal for using cannabis to save my son’s life’ [9 News]
In the eyes of the government Dannielle Luttrell is a criminal. Why? Because she openly admits to growing her own cannabis to make CBD oil. Ms Luttrell told nine.com.au she uses the product to treat her permanently disabled son, 10, who had been suffering up to 60 seizures each day before she started treating him with oil containing CBD and THC.
How black market drugs gave this 68-year-old Bunbury woman ‘pure happiness’ [The Sydney Morning Herald]
A few years ago, a 68-year-old Bunbury woman (who wished to remain anonymous) would have been terrified at the thought of consuming cannabis. Now, she can’t imagine life without it.
2019 UIC Australian Medical Cannabis Symposium [Greendorphin]
These kind of events are exactly what the developing local medical cannabis industry needs to ensure that local experts and patients are getting more and more educated. Only through such education, it is possible to achieve easy access to all Aussie patients in need.
Medical cannabis potential for Australia but stigma still attached [The Weekly Times]
Growing cannabis for medicinal use has great potential in Australia, but one of the biggest stumbling blocks is the stigma that still surrounds the plant. That’s according to Jamaica Medical Cannabis Corporation chief executive Diane Scott, who spoke at last week’s Global Food Forum in Sydney.
Is medical marijuana a miracle cure or misunderstood? [SBS]
As the world slowly warms to medicinal cannabis, much has been made of its proposed health benefits. But have we over-estimated what pot can do for the sick?
Hemp Coffins: Elevating The Afterlife In Australia With Hemp [Ministry of Hemp]
In Australia’s alternative lifestyle capital, bodies are being buried and burnt in brightly-decorated hemp coffins.
NORTH AMERICA
Michigan Commission Recommends No Limit on THC in Drivers’ Bodies [High Times]
Experts maintain that THC in the blood does not necessarily mean that a person is impaired—or even high.
Scarce Retail Weed Shops Means Most Canadians Still Use Black Market Pot [Civilized]
Squeezing out black markets is a key goal of cannabis legalization. Legalization also lets governments tax cannabis production and consumption. Canada has achieved limited progress so far toward those potentially conflicting goals. But some provinces have made good starts.
LA is the Latest City to Wipe Mass Cannabis Convictions Using Computer Algorithms [Civilized]
50,000 cannabis convictions are about to be permanently wiped from the criminal records of LA residents for free and automatically, said LA district attorney Jackie Lacey. The county is now working with the non-profit tech organization Code for America to employ computer algorithms that can automatically identify and expunge the records of qualifying individuals.
Report: Washington’s Cannabis Canopy Allotments Largely Under Developed [Ganjapreneur]
The first Washington state cannabis canopy report shows that a number of Washington licensees have underdeveloped cannabis cultivation operations compared to their canopy allotment from the state.
Maryland Firm Drops Licensing Lawsuit Following Backlash [Ganjapreneur]
Maryland cannabis operator Curio Wellness has withdrawn the lawsuit filed late last month against the state’s Medical Cannabis Commission over its plan to issue new cannabis licenses to minority-owned companies.
US regulators exploring ways CBD products could be legal [MedicalXpress]
CBD comes from marijuana or hemp plants but does not cause a high. People have been drawn to the extract because of its supposed health effects. The Food and Drug Administration says the May 31 meeting will discuss the science, manufacturing and sale of CBD as it explores regulation of the ingredient.
Nevada sued over lack of transparency in adult-use cannabis licensing [Marijuana Business Daily]
A group of marijuana businesses in Nevada has sued the state, alleging a recent recreational marijuana licensing round wasn’t transparent and was “ripe for corruption.”
Personal data of 34,000 medical marijuana patients accessed in data breach: Canada [CTV News]
The personal health information of about 34,000 medical marijuana patients was accessed in a data breach of an electronic medical record system used by Sunniva Inc.’s Natural Health Services Ltd. subsidiary.
BUSINESS & POLICY
Legalization Isn’t Enough: 10 Things Every New Cannabis Law Must Have [Leafly]
1. Allow homegrow. Let consumers grow a limited number of their own plants at home and gift a limited amount to other adults. This serves as a check on monopolies, delays to store openings, and more.
Marijuana straight to your door: The debate over home delivery [KGUN9]
Marijuana delivery is a growing business in California, with a company called Eaze dominating the marketplace. Its web page connects customers to dispensaries. Customers can choose from a variety of products, including flower, vape pens, body creams and more. Then, it gets delivered straight to the customer’s door.
Marijuana Banking Bill Approved By Congressional Committee [Forbes]
A US congressional committee voted on Thursday to approve legislation aimed at increasing marijuana businesses’ access to banks.
West Virginia Gov. Signs Banking Bill for Medical Industry [Ganjapreneur]
The new law authorizes the state treasurer to select financial institutions who will provide banking services via a competitive bidding process to state-legal cannabis companies.
These Investors Are Looking for Women-Led Cannabis Companies [Leafly]
To succeed in capitalism, you need capital. Unfortunately, women and people of color historically don’t have equal access to large sums of money.
Trier installs first vending machine for legal CBD products [RTL Today]
The first vending machine for legal cannabis products in Germany has been installed in our neighbouring city, Trier. Luxembourg already has several.
HEALTH & SCIENCE
‘Marijuana is the new Oxycontin’: Should we be concerned with how docs are learning about pot? [Global News]
Cannabis companies are becoming an increasing presence in the medical industry, touting the drug as a remedy for a variety of ailments, from pain and anxiety to endometriosis and glaucoma — and they do it with little oversight.
Cannabis Helped About Half of Patients Off Anxiety Meds, Study Reports [Weedmaps]
Medical cannabis helped nearly half of patients get off their anxiety medications after six months, according to a Canadian study conducted at a cannabis-focused treatment center.
Does the entourage effect theory hold water? [The Growth Op]
New study looks at the interaction among six common cannabis terpenes and THC.
Coffee ‘affects the same system in the brain as cannabis’ [Yahoo! News]
On the face of it, coffee doesn’t have too much in common with cannabis – one jolts you awake, the other is known as ‘dope’ for a reason. But the two substances actually affect the same neurotransmitters, according to a new study from Northwestern Medicine.
Scientists Gene-Edited Tequila Bacteria to Make Cannabinoids [Futurism]
This bacteria spits out THC instead of tequila.
CULTURE & SOCIETY
Study: Medical Marijuana Access Linked To Greater Employment Among Older Adults [NORML]
The enactment of medical cannabis access laws is associated with better reported health outcomes among older Americans and greater labor participation, according to data published in The Journal of Policy Analysis and Management.
Lavender Cannabis Strain: Origins, Benefits, Potency [Marijuana Break]
Many strains have been developed out of the cherished Afghan region, all carrying with them that signature hash flavor. These strains all derive from one region in Afghanistan and share the unique quality of being landrace strains.
New Brexit blow: Brits banned from Amsterdam’s cannabis coffee shops [Dutch News]
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.
E-Petition: Legalise cannabis for recreational use [Parliament of Victoria]
Petition: For a Referendum on Recreational Cannabis Use during 2019 NSW Election [Liberal Democrats]
Cannabis as Medicine Survey: 2018 [The University of Sydney]
Support Tony Bower’s Legal Fees [gofundme]
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]
EVENTS
Harvest Festival & Cannabis Cup [New Zealand]
20-21 April 2019, Dunedin NZ
27th Nimbin MardiGrass [Hemp Embassy]
3-5 May 2019, Nimbin NSW
Garden States – A forum for cultivating ethnobotanical plants & knowledge [Entheogenesis Australis]
12 May 2019, Melbourne VIC
Hemp, Health & Innovation Expo & Symposium [HHI]
18-19 May 2019, Rosehill Racecourse, Rosehill, Sydney NSW
EDUCATION
‘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]
MardiGrass Hemposium 2018 Talks now Available 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.