MjLink Cannabis Business News and Press

Your new year’s resolution for 2020 was to lose weight. And this time, you really are committed to making it happen.

But here’s the dilemma: When trying to drop the pounds, do you stop using pot because it gives you the munchies or do you increase your intake because, for some, it acts as an appetite suppressant?

“It depends,” according to Dr. Jon Davis, Ph.D., assistant professor at Washington State University’s Department of Integrative Physiology & Neuroscience.

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Tracy Damon ~ Spokesman.com ~ 

A majority of Americans believe that state marijuana legalization laws have been a success, according to a new survey.

YouGov asked more than 27,000 adults about states where cannabis has been legalized for recreational purposes and whether they “think the legislation has been a success or a failure.”

Fifty-five percent of respondents in the poll, released on Monday, said that regulated marijuana markets are either complete successes or more of a success than failure.

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Kyle Jaeger ~ MarijuanaMoment.net ~ 

The Greek Ministries of Development and Investments and Rural Development and Food discuss the future of Greece’s medical cannabis industry.

In 2018, the government of Greece approved the legalisation of cannabis for medical use.

Representatives of the Greek Ministry of Development and Investments and the Ministry of Rural Development and Food tell MCN about the decision to legalise, the complexities of implementing regulatory standards; and the future of Greece’s cannabis industry. 

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Rosemary Lobley ~ HeathEuropa.eu ~ 

Medical marijuana dispensaries began popping up across Arkanasas almost a year ago. In that time, over 10,000 pounds of medical marijuana has been sold in Arkansas, according to the Department of Finance and Administration.

Overall, Arkansans have spent $63.37 million on over 10,050 pounds of medical marijuana since last May, department spokesperson Scott Hardin said.

Hot Spring's Green Springs Medical makes up a fifth of those sales, selling over 2,000 pounds as of last week, according to Hardin.

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KATV.com ~

If luxury THC granola, weed aperitifs, and CBD pillows couldn't make me into a stoner, nothing can.

I am not, by and large, a weed guy. Oh, I have tried, but through substantial trial and error I have determined that I lack the essential level of chill to pull the whole thing off.

For years, I've regarded the stoners in my life with awe and envy; they seem so relaxed and cheerful, while one hit off a vape pen tends to nudge me into the anxiety that is always just over my shoulder. 

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Dave Holmes ~ Esquire.com ~ 

Mexico’s deadline to legalize cannabis has been extended to Dec. 15.

The Supreme Court accepted a request from a group of Senators on Friday to postpone the April 30 deadline to approve a law to legalize cannabis nationwide.

The bill is expected to be approved during the Senate’s next ordinary session period, which starts in September.

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Alfredo Pascual ~ MJBizDaily.com ~ 

Nothing exemplifies the growth and change in the legal cannabis industry quite like extraction, the process of stripping the plant of cannabinoids such as THC and CBD, as well as all the smelly stuff.

The word "hash" is a rare one in legal weed nowadays, supplanted by terms like "sugar wax," "live resin," "terpene sauce" and "rosin."

Since there was essentially only one form of hash a little more than a decade ago, there was no need to differentiate.

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Thomas Mitchell ~ Westword.com ~ 

U.S. cannabis CEOs say the chances for federal marijuana legalization will dramatically increase in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, after several states declared dispensaries essential businesses, allowing them to remain open during stay-at-home orders aimed at halting the spread of the virus.

CNBC spoke with the leaders of U.S. based cannabis producers Cresco Labs, Curaleaf, and Green Thumb Industries as well as cannabis investor Matt Hawkins about the state of the industry ahead of April 20, also known as “4/20,” the unofficial holiday for recreational cannabis users.

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Frank Holland ~ CNBC.com ~ 

COVID-19 concerns have snuffed out public celebrations of marijuana on Monday, an unofficial holiday for smoking cannabis, driving some activities online across the United States.

The significance of April 20, or 4:20 p.m., as a clandestine time to use marijuana is unclear, but became underground code language, according to author Shirley Halperin's book, Pot Culture: The A-Z Guide to Stoner Language and Life.

Since adult-use cannabis has been legalized across the country, more outdoor festivals and events on the date have sprung up. 

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Jean Lotus ~ UPI.com ~

A study by the University of Buffalo and University of Michigan shows that even enthusiastic cannabis consumers can have a low level of knowledge about THC, CBD, and effective dosing.

The researchers surveyed about 500 attendees of the Hash Bash in Michigan, asking them to fill out a 24-item questionnaire.

Of the respondents, two-thirds said they consumed cannabis daily – with 85 percent claiming use for health or medical benefits – and 78 percent said their cannabis knowledge came from their own experiences.

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TG Branfalt ~ Ganjapreneur.com ~ 

Could cannabis help treat diabetes? A small but growing body of research suggests that certain cannabinoids may hold promise.

The newest addition to the scientific literature comes from the Institute of Biomolecular Chemistry in Italy.

In a study published in the journal Molecules, researchers there found that cannabimovone (CBM), a rare cannabinoid, can sensitize cells to insulin.

CBM thus joins CBD, THC, THCV, and THCA as a potentially promising avenue of research for diabetes prevention.

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Dispensaries across the state are hustling to meet customer needs amid changing state regulations.

You probably won't see the inside of Organic Alternatives for a while — at least not like you used to if you visited the Fort Collins marijuana shop.

When you get to the Old Town dispensary, you'll likely be funneled into its cozy back parking lot and greeted by a bud tender for curbside pickup.

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Erin Udell ~ Fort Collins Coloradoan ~

4/20 is the biggest holiday of the year for the cannabis industry. Because of COVID-19 and the stay home order, businesses say this year will look very different.

4/20 is arguably a pot smoker's favorite holiday.

It's also a day when Oregon's pot shops see a huge spike in sales, and a day the industry plans and prepares for months in advance.

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Morgan Romero ~ KGW.com ~ 

Some states have left all cannabis dispensaries open, while others have only allowed medical patients access.

As the coronavirus spread across the country in March, and stay-at-home orders began to go into effect, every state with a regulated cannabis system allowed weed sales to continue in some form, deeming medical-marijuana businesses essential during the pandemic, along with groceries and pharmacies.

This, The New York Times declared, was “official recognition that for some Americans, cannabis is as necessary as milk and bread.”

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Mary Jane Gibson ~ RollingStone.com ~ 

Edibles are already a staple of many people’s cannabis lineup, and lately, due to the pandemic, some may even be choosing to forgo smoking entirely and switch to edibles due to health concerns.

Much like rice, pasta, and toilet paper, perhaps you’re thinking about stocking up on enough edibles to last through your period of self-isolation, but unlike the former, edibles tend to be perishable.

So you may be wondering -- how long do edibles stay fresh?

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Ray Lland ~ Leafly.com ~ 

Maine's marijuana czar says launching the adult-use industry by June is 'simply unrealistic.'

The coronavirus pandemic has compelled Maine to put its planned June debut of the state’s long-awaited recreational cannabis market on indefinite hold.

“It now appears as though a spring launch of Maine’s adult use industry is simply unrealistic,” said Erik Gundersen, the director of the Maine Office of Marijuana Policy.

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Penelope Overton ~ Portland Press Herald ~ 

The league’s new labor agreement eased rules about players’ use and caught up with many sports that had already liberalized their policies.

The 10-year labor agreement between the N.F.L. and players union that was ratified on March 15 is filled with dozens of incremental changes, most notably the one-percentage-point increase in the share of league revenue that the players will receive.

One of the biggest overhauls in the agreement, though, was a change the league had long resisted: loosening the rules governing players’ use of marijuana.

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Ken Belson ~ NYTimes.com ~ 

Marijuana and yoga can, singularly or in tandem, affect a sense of enhanced body awareness — and who couldn’t use a little happiness booster?

n a 2001 Time Magazine article, The Power of Yoga, Dr. Timothy McCall, author of Examining Your Doctor: A Patient’s Guide to Avoiding Harmful Medical Care said: “One lesson of the alternative health-care movement,” McCall warns, “is that the public is not going to wait for doctors to get it together.”

This could not be truer both of marijuana and yoga.

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Errin Reaume ~ CannabisNow.com ~ 

The state is the 27th to decriminalize or legalize marijuana.

On Sunday, Gov. Ralph Northam (D) announced he signed a bill that will eliminate jail time for simple marijuana possession, leaving only a civil penalty with a fine in place for the first offense.

Northam previously said decriminalization was a priority for him, and the newly elected Democratic-controlled legislature soon followed his lead.

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German Lopez ~ Vox.com ~ 

The change will help customers and store owners while helping to fight the cannabis black market, the government said.

The government of Ontario’s decision that marijuana stores are an essential service was good news for Hobo Cannabis Co. in Ottawa.

The B.C.-based chain had opened two stores in Ottawa in the past two weeks, only to have them shut down on April 4 after the province narrowed the list of essential businesses that can remain open during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Jacquie Miller ~ OttawaSun.com ~