The economic fallout, that is. So far, the coronavirus outbreak has resulted in lower sales and some cannabis-related events have been canceled. And a lot of inexpensive cannabis hardware is made in China.
Researchers from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore have announced a new study to determine if CBD can help minimize opioid withdrawal symptoms. More than 130 people a day lose their lives from opioid-connected drug overdoses, and CBD is a “promising pharmacotherapy for the treatment of opioid withdrawal.”
“Clinicians in a recently published case study have concluded that cannabis was the likely culprit behind a 32-year-old man’s persistent, painful erections. It’s a rare and curious example of marijuana being associated with what’s known in medical jargon as priapism—an erection lasting more than four hours that’s not related to sexual activity.”
Colorado’s marijuana regulators Tuesday held a public hearing on new rules, which would ban certain additives in cannabis vape products. The proposed ban of ingredients used in marijuana concentrates or products intended for inhalation include:
The cannabis recruitment firm Vangst has a summary of the benefits offered by cannabis companies nationwide:
A study from the University of Colorado suggests that cannabis helps people survive a heart attack. This debunks the assumption that cannabis consumers have more cardiac risk factors than non-consumers.
“Perhaps the most striking finding of our study is that marijuana use prior to AMI was associated with decreased in-hospital mortality post AMI,” writes the study authors.
We were going to ignore this . . . but just couldn’t. Cannabis and sex. Read More »
Getting what you need Americans for Safe Access have put out a U.S. travel guide for medical cannabis patients so they have access to safe and legal cannabis.
“There are currently 47 states and four territories with some form of a medical cannabis law, but the rights and privileges they extend to medical cannabis patients vary among them. As a result, patients who travel for personal or employment reasons can find themselves unsure as to how to access medical cannabis in an unfamiliar place.” More »
Thinking outside the box States with marijuana dispensaries flush with cash are exploring banking workarounds using credit unions, digital currencies, and payment apps. More »
We got thisAn interesting Q and A with Natalie Riggins, program manager for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment MMJ Registry, who discusses implementation of new legislation on medical marijuana.
Related: Doctors can recommend cannabis in place of opioids Read »
Cannabis love connection When cannabis is featured as the way two people met, fell in love and got married in the Vows section of The New York Times, you know things have changed.
Read »
NIMBYers take noteThe impacts of regulated retail dispensaries is associated with a decrease in local criminal activity, according to a new study in Regional Science and Urban Economics. The study was conducted in Denver.
“Overall, our results suggest that dispensaries cause an overall reduction in crime in neighborhoods, with no evidence of spillovers to surrounding neighborhoods. … Our results are consistent with theories that predict that marijuana legalization will displace illicit criminal organizations and decrease crime through changes in security behaviors or substitution toward more harmful substances. … Lastly, there is no evidence that increased marijuana use itself results in additional crime.”
CU Anschutz researchers jumped through seemingly endless government hoops to study CBD and Parkinson’s. What they found is that participants reported they felt less irritable and that they were sleeping better. They even saw that some of their motor symptoms, including stiffness and slowness, improved.
The researchers are helping others navigate the red tape to do more studies.
President Trump said last week that his administration is allowing states to set their own marijuana policies.
“We’re going to see what’s going on. It’s a very big subject and right now we are allowing states to make that decision,” Trump said. “A lot of states are making that decision, but we’re allowing states to make that decision.”
City regulators are streamlining the application and inspection processes for marijuana license transfer of ownership. Information »
Bloomberg looks at how states are working to create solutions to take tax payments from marijuana businesses.
Harvard University’s Dana-Farber Cancer Institute found a chemical in cannabis that has demonstrated “significant therapy potential” in treatment of pancreatic cancer. The study is the first to show not only a potential new treatment for pancreatic cancer, but other cancers. The scientists were “startled” to find the cannabis was capable of attacking other cancer cells.
Colorado nurses have launched a hotline, Leaf411, to answer questions about cannabis. They said they expect many of their callers to be senior citizens, a growing user demographic that’s more likely to need health care and use the phone.
Cannabidiol can help stem the tide of antibiotic resistance. “Antibiotic, or antimicrobial, resistance is where bugs such as bacteria can survive drugs created to kill them, making infections difficult, or impossible, to treat. Scientists in Australia found cannabidiol — the non-psychoactive ingredient marijuana — killed all the strainns of bacteria they tested in a lab, including some which are highly resistant to existing antibiotics.
Read the entire article here »
And maybe food, too…Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has exerted some pressure on the head of the FDA to develop regulations on hemp-derived CBD.
“While the 2018 Farm Bill included my provision to remove hemp, and its derivatives like CBD, from the list of controlled substances, CBD food and dietary supplement products remain in a gray area without clarification from the FDA,” he said in a press release.