Colorado State University-Pueblo received state approval Friday for the state’s first cannabis-related degree program, to be launched this fall.

The program — called “Cannabis, Biology and Chemistry” — will focus on the science necessary to work in the cannabis field, with coursework similar to double-majoring in biology and chemistry, said David Lehmpuhl, dean of CSU-Pueblo’s College of Science and Mathematics.

“It’s a rigorous degree geared toward the increasing demand coming about because of the cannabis industry,” Lehmpuhl said. 

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Elizabeth Hernandez ~ DenverPost.com ~  

Amid a years-long labor shortage, workers in California’s wine region are headed to cannabis jobs offering better pay, working conditions.

Maria Vilchis had reached her breaking point. She couldn’t manage one more season working for a vineyard.

For years, she’d survived on temporary jobs picking wine grapes and cleaning barrels in wine cellars throughout the Salinas Valley.

But the hard labor was taking a toll on her body and the seasonal income wasn’t enough to support her family.

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How many jobs are there in the legal marijuana industry? Leafly’s annual Cannabis Jobs Report found 243,700 full-time-equivalent (FTE) jobs supported by legal cannabis as of January 2020.

That’s a 15% year-over-year increase. Over the past 12 months the expanding industry has created 33,700 new jobs nationwide, making legal marijuana the fastest-growing industry in America.

This year’s jobs count found Massachusetts, Oklahoma, and Illinois leading the employment expansion. 

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Bruce Barcott, David Downs, and Ian Chant ~ Leafly.com ~ 

"Every report we've got so far, those communities that have been awarded licenses seem to be very excited to have the opportunity for more jobs and a boost in their economy."

Julie Picton grew up in California but said she now can't imagine living anywhere except rural Missouri.

"The country grows on you," the 50-year Vandalia resident said. For the past five years, Picton has worked at Firestone and Appliance and Furniture, but the business has been an integral part of Vandalia for much longer.

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Caroline Dade ~ KOMU.com ~

The partnership is the first of its kind between a luxury fashion house and a cannabis brand.

M Missoni is partnering with Los Angeles-based cannabis brand Pure Beauty to debut custom cannabis cigarettes in the fashion brand’s iconic zigzag patterns.

The THC-containing pre-rolls will debut during M Missoni’s Feb. 4 event at L.A. landmark Pink’s Hot Dogs.

Although CBD products have been a mainstay in fashion show gift bags and at events for several seasons, this partnership on psychoactive THC products is the first of its kind between a luxury fashion house and a cannabis brand.

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At present the CBD market in the UK is valued at £300 million ($387.96 million US) and is expected to rise to £1 billion ($1.29 billion US) by 2025.

The British Hemp Alliance (BHA), formally the British Hemp Association, was formed in 2018 to lobby for change and remove the barriers to growth that are stopping a thriving UK hemp industry.

It is comprised of NGO’s, farmers, businesses, environmental organisations and individuals who want to support progressive changes in hemp legislation. 

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Rebekah Shaman, British Hemp Alliance ~ OpenAccessGovernment.org ~

One recent survey reported that upwards of 66% of those who suffer from MS may use cannabis in their efforts to control the disease.

Multiple sclerosis, also known as MS, is a chronic autoimmune disease that affects the central nervous system (CNS) — brain and spinal cord — by damaging the fatty myelin sheaths that surround our nerve cells.

Those with multiple sclerosis may experience a wide array of symptoms, including a worsening lack of coordination, trouble walking or getting around, muscle spasms and pain, dizziness, and changes in mood or sleep.

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Dr. Jordan Tishler ~ TheFreshToast.com ~ 

Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, has entered the cannabis industry, making history as the first historically black college or university to join the legal marijuana business.

In partnership with Ilera Holistic Healthcare, a medical marijuana company in Pennsylvania, the university launched its hemp product line, ALAFIA, last week.

The name means “inner peace” in the Yoruba language, according to the team behind the product. 

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Julian Shen-Berro ~ NBCNews.com ~  

A study of cannabis users found 82% of people partaking in exercise use cannabis before or after their workout, reporting it increases enjoyment, enhances recovery, and heightens motivation.

Is cannabis the new ‘runners high’? Eight out of 10 cannabis users (in states where it is legal) say they partake in the drug shortly before or after exercise.

Most reported that it motivates them to work out, helps them enjoy exercise more and improves their recovery, according to University of Colorado Boulder research. 

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HealthEuropa.EU ~ 

Whoopi & Maya, the medical cannabis company co-founded by Whoopi Goldberg, is closing up shop, according to a statement posted on its website.

In an interview with CNN Business, Rick Cusick, a Whoopi & Maya board member who helped found the company with Goldberg and Om Edibles founder Maya Elisabeth, said he received word Friday from Goldberg that she planned to step away from the brand.

"It became clear to everybody that Whoopi and Maya wanted a divorce," Cusick said, noting he was speaking for himself and not the company or its board.

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Alicia Wallace ~ CNN.com ~ 

For her birthday, one of Mary Biekert’s daughters asked for something she’d never gotten before: a marijuana tour of Chicago.

So there was Biekert on a recent Saturday night, with her two adult daughters in a private smoking lounge in the city where a tour bus had dropped them off, getting lessons in how to roll a joint and smoke a bong.

The daughters, who live near St. Louis, had brought their own pot after spending three hours in line to buy from a licensed store in downstate Collinsville.

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Robert McCoppin ~ Chicago Tribune ~ 

Military veterans are using marijuana to treat chronic pain, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression, among other ailments, according to recently released survey data.

But the cost of medical marijuana, which isn’t covered by insurance, is a barrier, even if cannabis is used as an alternative to pharmaceuticals.

Final results from the 2019 Veterans Health and Medical Cannabis Study, which looked at 201 veterans in Massachusetts and 565 respondents nationwide, were presented at the Cannabis Advancement Series held Wednesday at Babson College in Wellesley.

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Susan Spencer ~ Telegram.com ~

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) unveiled a plan on Monday to aimed at expanding the number of banks and credit unions that work with the marijuana industry.

At a press conference announcing the new “Roadmap to Cannabis Banking & Financial Services,” Polis was joined by state regulators and Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO), the chief sponsor of pending congressional legislation that would shield banks from being penalized solely because they accept state-legal cannabis business accounts.

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Kyle Jaeger ~ MarijuanaMoment.net ~ 

The state's recreational marijuana retailers generated nearly $40 million worth of sales and taxes during the first month of operations.

That's according to a news release from the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, which announced sales figures for January reached $39,247,840.83.

Of that, $30.6 million was sold to Illinois residents. The other $8.6 million was generated by out-of-state buyers.

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Jake Griffin ~ DailyHerald.com ~ 

A newly discovered cannabis compound has been shown in the lab to potentially be 30 times more potent than THC, the most studied psychoactive compound in marijuana.

Whether the new cannabinoid, named tetrahydrocannabiphorol, or THCP, will deliver 30 times the high of THC — or any high at all — is unclear.

Italian scientists also discovered a second previously unknown compound they named CBDP. It appears to be a cousin of CBD, the medicinal compound known for its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anticonvulsant activity. 

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Kristen Rogers ~ CNN.com ~

Cannabis is disrupting the way we look at medicines -- but more people need to be educated about cannabis before it becomes commonly accepted as a medicine.

Patient access to medical cannabis prescriptions in the UK is not easy to obtain.

Only a handful of patients are currently receiving cannabis through private prescriptions, and very few clinicians are actually able to contextualise the use of medical cannabis or CBD for their patients.

One of the obstacles patients are facing is clinicians’ lack of education and comfort in prescribing. They are hesitant to suggest medical cannabis to their patients.

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While your team is hitting the field, you can be hitting the green with these weed strains.

The San Francisco 49ers are scheduled to face off against the Kansas City Chiefs this weekend.

Every house and apartment on your block will either be cheering for their team or idly waiting for halftime performances by Jennifer Lopez and Shakira.

Regardless of whether you’re watching at home, at a stadium or at a bar, there are plenty of ways to include cannabis in the festivities.

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Before medical marijuana became legal in Oklahoma in 2018, some users learned how to utilize the plant for medicinal purposes, whether to medicate themselves or others, and have now turned that knowledge into a business.

Cherokee Nation citizen Joseph Gibson learned how to turn marijuana it into a concentrate known as Rick Simpson Oil.

The oil was coined for a man of the same name who created the concentrate to heal his cancer, Gibson said. He said in years past he had people come to him with different ailments.

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Lindsey Bark ~ Cherokee Phoenix ~

Boston’s first recreational marijuana shop may open its doors in the coming weeks — a landmark not only as the first in Boston in general, but also the first in Massachusetts owned by economic empowerment candidates.

The store, Pure Oasis, is set to open as soon as the end of February at 430 Blue Hill Ave. in Roxbury.

Owners Kobie Evans and Kevin Hart have secured their certificate of occupancy, which is the final step in obtaining municipal permission.

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Elyse Genrich ~ DailyFreePress.com ~ 

Whether it’s clothes, glass art, photography or paraphernalia, ‘stoner culture’ has inspired all sorts of artists.

In Eastern Washington, Riley Schultz and Nick Michaels started Evergreen State of Consciousness two years ago.

Their products are now carried at 12 locations in the Spokane area, including representation at a holiday pop-up store at the Spokane Valley Mall.

The pair is giving life to up-cycled, or very gently used, clothing. Schultz said they used sacred geometry patterns from nature, represented in their Sacred Washington design, with the goal “keeping the state sacred.”

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