MjLink Cannabis Business News and Press

After nearly 4 years of what some researchers saw as foot dragging, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has announced it will evaluate 37 applications to grow marijuana for medical research and proposed new rules for the prospective growers that outline how the cannabis-growing program would work.

“The release of this framework is absolutely monumental and is the biggest, the most meaningful, and material progress made in federal cannabis policy in decades,” says George Hodgin, CEO of the Biopharmaceutical Research Company, one of the applicants. 

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Greg Miller ~ ScienceMag.org ~ 

Marijuana businesses and advocates are urging Governor Charlie Baker and state legislators to declare recreational marijuana shops "essential," allowing them to remain open during the coronavirus pandemic.

Last week Governor Charlie Baker ordered all non-essential businesses to close or operate remotely.

Liquor stores and medical marijuana dispensaries were deemed essential, while adult-use recreational marijuana facilities were not.

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Tori Bedford ~ WGBH.org ~ 

A new study found that CBD could act as a “helper compound” with traditional antibiotics to more effectively treat staph infections.

Diseases caused by bacteria were the leading cause of death for Americans until antibiotics came along.

The simple invention of penicillin in 1928 by Sir Alexander Fleming led to millions of lives being saved, with other antibiotics stopping similar untimely deaths.

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Brendan Bures ~ TheFreshToast.com ~ 

Industrial hemp and CBD oil are now legal in South Dakota after a yearlong standoff between Gov. Kristi Noem and legislators.

Noem signed House Bill 1008 into law on Friday, and it goes goes into effect immediately.

The bill includes $3.5 million in funding to set up the state's industrial hemp program, though funding is subject to change as Noem has called for a special session in June to address the budget in the wake of the coronavirus. 

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Lisa Kaczke ~ Sioux Falls Argus Leader ~

Normally active, social people around the world have been forced to socially isolate themselves in light of the coronavirus pandemic, making this a great time to catch up on that reading list.

For years, cannabis buffs had cult classics like Jorge Cervantes’ Growing Marijuana and the beloved cultivation anthologies from Ed Rosenthal. Now, in a post-legalization world, the cannabis enthusiast’s library has grown exponentially.

These books could provide entertainment and activities for the remainder of your social isolation.

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Cara Wietstock ~ Ganjapreneur.com ~ 

Take-out for weed? In the wake of coronavirus outbreak, OLCC is temporarily allowing marijuana retailers to do curbside delivery.

Restaurants, coffee shops, bars, gyms and movie theaters have all been forced to close under Oregon Governor Kate Brown’s executive order, while many other types of business chose to shutter for the foreseeable future to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

But one blossoming industry in Oregon is still up and running, allowed to stay open under the governor's order so long as social distancing guidelines are followed.

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Morgan Romero ~ KGW.com ~ 

The state allowing pot shops to stay open despite a “stay-at-home order” that closed other businesses is “a sign of how far we’ve come on this issue,” one advocate said.

Throngs of high-minded shoppers started flooding pot dispensaries when sales of recreational weed kicked off in Illinois at the start of the year.

Less than three months later, that type of mass clamoring is strictly forbidden as social distancing measures have been put in place to quell the spread of the novel coronavirus. I

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Tom Schuba ~ Chicago Sun Times ~ 

A new study has revealed that most legal marijuana products supplied to medical dispensaries are significantly higher in strength than recommended levels for the treatment of chronic pain.

In a study published this week in the journal PLOS ONE, scientists at the Wake Forest School of Medicine announced that over 90% of legal marijuana products are far more potent than clinical tests recommended they should be.

An estimated three and a half million people in the US take medical marijuana for various reasons. 

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Sarah Moore ~ News Medical ~ 

As the economic damage from the coronavirus pandemic piles up, U.S. cities and states are set to face significant lost revenue given the loss of business activity.

But, as DataTrek Research’s Jessica Rabe writes in a note, “there’s a simple and effective solution for states and cities to help cover their huge budget shortfalls after the COVID-19 pandemic subsides: legalize recreational sales of marijuana.”

New York, the epicenter of COVID-19 cases in the U.S., might see a revenue drop of $4 billion to $7 billion compared to what it was expecting, according to the state comptroller. With a budget of $87.9 billion, that’s significant.

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Ethan Wolff-Mann ~ Yahoo Finance ~ 

The governor of New York said on Monday that he expects lawmakers to push ahead with plans to legalize marijuana even as the state works to address the coronavirus pandemic.

During a briefing on the public health crisis, Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) was asked about his legislative priorities for the budget, which is facing an April 1 deadline to get passed.

While he recognized that there are certain policy items he included in his proposal to lawmakers that are more complicated and may have to be delayed, he said the legislature should still pursue cannabis legalization.

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Kyle Jaeger ~ MarijuanaMoment.net ~ 

Vying to become Europe's "Cannabis Superpower," marijuana entrepreneurs in the recently rebranded country are waiting for the government to act.

In a desolate industrial zone of this capital city, a cannabis grow house is under construction that, when finished, will span 178,000 square feet, about the size of a Walmart superstore.

At full capacity, 17 tons of marijuana a year, worth about $50 million, will be harvested.

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David Segal ~ New York Times ~ 

Research makes the case that contact highs are in fact real, but considering the circumstances, you may not have a lot to worry about.

You’re at a party and a joint is being passed around. The room is filled with smoke and you start to wonder, will I get a contact high from weed?

Is a contact high even real? A contact high -- also known as a secondhand high -- is the idea that secondhand exposure to cannabis smoke can get a person stoned or even leave them with THC in their system. 

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Rae Lland ~ Leafly.com ~ 

Wellness Connection filed a lawsuit in federal court Friday against the Maine department that oversees marijuana policy, claiming that residency restrictions on owners of recreational cannabis businesses violate the U.S. Constitution.

The Auburn-based company said the residency requirement is delaying its entry into the adult-use market because it needs more capital investment, which it said is more available outside of Maine.

It also said the requirement may stymie job and economic growth for recreational marijuana businesses and for the entire Maine economy.

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Lori Valigra ~ BangorDailyNews.com ~ 

Federal prosecutions for marijuana trafficking declined again in 2019, and drug possession cases overall saw an even more dramatic decline, according to a new report published by the U.S. Sentencing Commission on Monday.

While drug cases still represent the second most common category of crimes in the federal criminal justice system, the data indicates that the bulk of those instances are related to methamphetamine trafficking, which has steadily increased over the past decade.

But for marijuana, a different kind of trend has emerged.

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Kyle Jaeger ~ MarijuanaMoment.net ~ 

Cannabis sales are touching new highs as customers across the United States and Canada stockpile weed to prepare for long spells of isolation because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Between March 16 and March 22, sales of recreational cannabis across California, Colorado, Oregon and Arkansas - some of the key U.S. markets - were up 50% and medical marijuana sales rose 41% from the same period last year, figures obtained from cannabis point of sale and data platform Flowhub show. 

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Shariq Khan ~ Reuters.com ~ 

History shows that cannabis helps people cope with anxiety.

Older adults - the population most vulnerable to the novel coronavirus – have plenty to be anxious about.

Particularly for those residing in long-term care facilities, this stress can only be compounded. 

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Abbie Rosner ~ Forbes.com ~ 

As the virus took hold, the outlets were closed. But when street dealers quickly moved in, the government began to rethink the situation.

On Monday evening, March 16, Ben Van Essen brought a roll of white tape to work.

With a mask and gloves on, he used the tape to mark several dividing lines, every six feet, on the floor of the cannabis “coffee shop” Metamorphose in Groningen, Holland, where he works as a manager.

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Amel Brahmi ~ CannabisWire.com ~ 

For home cooks and aspiring bakers alike, a week or two stuck inside presents a perfect opportunity to try your hand at cooking with cannabis.

In the last couple weeks, concerns over coronavirus have meant social distancing and increasing isolation for more and more individuals around the world.

For individuals who can manage it, staying home is the best tool we currently have against the spread of COVID-19. 

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Ian Chant ~ Leafly.com ~

Never has it been more clear than during the current COVID-19 pandemic that marijuana has arrived at the forefront of mainstream American society.

In state after state, governors and public health officials are deeming cannabis businesses “essential” operations that can stay open amid coronavirus-related forced closures and stay-at-home mandates.

People might not be able to go bowling or see a movie in theaters, but they can still stock up on marijuana.

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Tom Angell ~ Forbes.com ~ 

As more Americans across the country are sheltering at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, a major Colorado cannabis retailer announced that it has received the state’s first permit to deliver medical marijuana directly to patients’ doors.

Boulder-based medical cannabis dispensary The Dandelion, which is owned and operated by the retail chain Native Roots, obtained Colorado’s first state-issued delivery license last week, the company announced on Thursday in a press release.

Delivery services won’t be available immediately, however. Shannon Fender, director of public affairs for Native Roots, said The Dandelion is hoping to begin its first deliveries by the end of the month.

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Ben Aldin ~ MarijuanaMoment.net ~