MjLink Cannabis Business News and Press

It’s now a widely-held and recognized belief that cannabis helps patients with epilepsy maintain a better quality of life and find respite from seizures.

With the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) citing that epilepsy affects over 3.4 million Americans, identifying a key function in the disease’s ability to target certain parts of the body gives researchers key insight into understanding how and why epilepsy occurs.

In a new study published in the Annals of Neurology, researchers found that an autoantibody, which works against the body, seems to be responsible for causing epilepsy in some patients.

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Kate-Madonna Hindes ~ TheFreshToast.com ~ 

For the second-straight month, Oregon broke sales records for legal marijuana.

There is one bright spot in the economy: marijuana sales. In April, Oregon saw $89 million in legal marijuana sales.

The Oregon Liquor Control Commission reports marijuana sales were up 45% in April, compared to last year, making April 2020 the largest month on record for the state.

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Kyle Iboshi ~ KGW.com ~

A survey on marijuana use among orthopedic patients showed many believe marijuana is beneficial for managing pain and other medical conditions.

Geoffrey S. Marecek, MD, and colleagues used a voluntary questionnaire to collect patient demographics as well as the frequency of, methods of and reasons for marijuana use among 275 patients undergoing orthopedic surgery.

Researchers categorized patients as marijuana users if they had used marijuana in the past year.

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Healio.com ~ 

As part of Gov. Charlie Baker's phased reopening plan, recreational cannabis stores in Massachusetts will be allowed to reopen for curbside pickup on May 25.

Under Phase 2 of Baker's reopening plan, pot shops can reopen to in-person sales for recreational customers like any other retail outlet, provided they follow social distancing and other regulations intended to stop or slow the spread of the virus.

It's not clear when Phase 2 will happen, but it will be at least three weeks, according to the state's plan.

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WBUR.com ~ 

“There’s a need for trained workers and these courses do a good job mixing lectures, quizzes and other interactive media elements."

At first glance, they don’t seem to have much in common: college administrators seeking new revenue sources because their students have all gone home, and displaced workers looking into the legal cannabis industry because it’s still hiring during the pandemic.

But the groups are converging. 

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Julie Weed ~ Forbes.com ~ 

Lawmakers voted 208-199 (23 not voting) in favor of coronavirus “HEROES” relief package DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: On Friday evening (5/15/20) lawmakers in the United States House of Representatives passed additional coronavirus relief legislation to provide continued economic and government support to the country. The Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act includes the Read the full article...

Leading researchers in the USA will check the effectiveness of whole-plant versus single-extract CBD under a $9 million project aimed at enlightening consumers and doctors.

Harvard Medical School, which will lead the research project, and Massachusetts Institute of Techology (MIT), received $4.5 million each to support the series of studies.

The grant, reportedly the largest ever for cannabis research, was provided by Charles R. Broderick, an early investor in the Canadian medical marijuana market, and an alumnus of both schools.

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HempToday.net ~ 

A new marketing report found that as cannabis continues to mainstream its way into American culture, more adults are using the herb than ever before.

The report is based on a survey from MRI Simmons, a marketing research firm.

One of the report’s most eye-opening insights is the increase in cannabis consumption over a one-year period. In 2018, only 16 percent of respondents said they used weed at least once that year.

But by 2019, that figure jumped to 22 percent, or just over 1 out of 5 adults, Marketing Charts reported.

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OHIO: The State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy today published updated patient & caregiver numbers for April 2020. These numbers include: 125,117 Recommendations 101,427 Registered patients 7,443 Patients with Veteran Status 7,695 Patients with Indigent Status 570 Patients with a Terminal Diagnosis 74,912 Unique patients who purchased medical marijuana (as reported to OARRS by licensed Read the full article...

Colorado hotel room rentals increased considerably after the state began legal marijuana sales, a newly published study reveals. Washington State also saw increases in tourism after legalization, though the effect there was more modest.

The two states were the first in the U.S. to allow adult-use cannabis through laws approved by voters in 2012.

By comparing hotel room rentals in Colorado and Washington to states that did not change their legal status of marijuana from 2011 through 2015, researchers found that legalization coincided with a significant influx of tourists and a rise in hotel revenue. 

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Ben Aldin ~ MarijuanaMoment.net ~ 

ISRAEL: Rambam Health Care Campus is leading cannabis research that could be helpful in the treatment of severely ill COVID-19 patients. Clinical trials have been scheduled. Researchers in the Center for Cannabis Research at Rambam Health Care Campus, led by the center’s Director Dr. Igal Louria-Hayon, hope to study the effects of cannabis use on Read the full article...

Would you buy a painting made by a dog? What if it came with some weed as a free gift? Welcome to District Derp, an art gallery in Washington, DC, with a couple quirks.

All the artwork is painted by Sudo, a 4-year-old Alaskan Klee Kai.

And each painting comes with a "gift" -- an amount of marijuana proportional to the cost of the painting.

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Will Storey, Kaitlyn Wang and Mark Abadi ~ BusinessInsider.com ~ 

The optimal minimum legal age for non-medical cannabis use is 19 years of age, according to a study published in BMC Public Health.

A team of researchers at the Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada, investigated how Canadians who started using cannabis at several young ages differed across important outcomes (educational attainment, cigarette smoking, self-reported general and mental health) in later-life.

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BioMed Central via MedicalXpress.com ~

New York City has barred many employers from making job applicants get tested for marijuana use, under a law that took effect over the weekend.

It passed last year as the nation’s biggest city took a novel step in the evolving regulation of workplace policies about pot.

A few months later, Nevada passed a similar law — it says applicants can’t be turned down for failing a pot test — that went into effect Jan. 1. Unlike in Nevada, recreational pot is illegal in New York. Medicinal use is allowed.

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Jennifer Peltz ~ Associated Press ~ 

Cannabis farmers often have to face the mercy of a number of exterior factors damaging their crops – so, how can they protect their plants from pests?

Problems that can impact cannabis plants include issues such as the ambient climate and acute weather events, soil quality, insects and other pests, which can consume and contaminate the crop, including mites, aphids, flies, worms, fungi, mould and pathogens – and even some opportunistic mammals, such as rodents and deer.

So, how can cannabis farmers protect their crops from pests?

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HealthEuropa.eu ~ 

The endogenous compound anandamide -- often referred to as the body's own marijuana -- plays a role in erasing memories of a traumatic event.

This was discovered by an international team led by Leiden chemist Mario van der Stelt.

The results have been published in Nature Chemical Biology and may provide a starting point for the treatment of anxiety disorders such as PTSD.

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Leiden University via MedicalXpress.com ~ 

People who live in states that have legalized marijuana for adult use broadly feel that the policy has been a success, according to a new poll.

A majority of people from eight states that were surveyed said the programs are working well.

And in Maine, which legalized cannabis in 2016 but still doesn’t have any adult-use retail shops open, people still said the law is more of a success than a failure by a greater than two-to-one plurality.

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Kyle Jaeger ~ MarijuanaMoment.net ~ 

Israel gave approval on Wednesday for exports of medical cannabis, paving the way for sales abroad that the government expects to produce hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue.

“This is a significant step for exporters and the Israeli industry, which will enable both expansion of export opportunities as well as rising employment ... in the field,” said Economy Minister Eli Cohen.

Cohen gave final approval for the exports more than a year after the cabinet backed a new law to permit them. Cohen’s order takes effect in 30 days, allowing exporters to apply for a licence from the Health Ministry.

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Steven Scheer ~ Reuters.com ~ 

WASHINGTON: The Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (WSLCB) has rescheduled a Listen and Learn forum on draft conceptual rules regarding marijuana true party of interest regulations described in WAC 314-55-035 to accommodate concerns around the COVID-19 outbreak. Please join us virtually on Wednesday, May 20, 2020, from 1:00 p.m. until 3:30 p.m. via WebEx Read the full article...

The U.S. House will include legislative language from the SAFE Banking Act in the next relief bill aimed at economic relief amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Thus far in the current economic crisis, cannabis businesses have been largely excluded from such relief. The ongoing Schedule-I status of the plant has barred any federal stimulus aid or small business loans from hitting the industry—even as cannabis business around the U.S. have been deemed “essential” in this difficult moment.

The SAFE Banking Act was passed by the House last fall, but the Senate has not yet taken any action on the measure. In short, the bill (formally titled the Secure and Fair Enforcement of Banking Act) would allow banks to work with cannabis businesses and prevent any federal banking regulator from intervening or punishing those banks.

“Cannabis businesses are dealing with the same hardships as other small business without the same critical financial tools and reliable banking services. Providing access to banking services removes some of the shackles that are holding back the full potential of the fastest growing sector of the US economy,” said Saphira Galoob, executive director of the National Cannabis Roundtable, said in a public staetment. “NCR applauds the House for acknowledging the legitimacy of cannabis businesses, and especially the work of Congressman Perlmutter who has been a tireless champion for the industry and its thousands of small businesses and workers.”

Despite the silence from the U.S. Senate as a governing body on this question, the SAFE Banking Act has picked up fairly broad support. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin trumpeted the fundamental need for some sort of solution last year. Governors around the country have signaled support for the federal measure, as well. 

Justin Strekal, political director of NORML, said in a public statement today: “The inclusion of the SAFE Banking Act in the CARES 2 package is a positive development, but one that’s akin to applying a band-aid to a gaping wound. In the majority of states, these cannabis businesses have been deemed essential during this pandemic. But at the federal level, they are being cast aside by Congress. Those small cannabis businesses facing tough economic times are essentially being told by Congress to shutter their doors and fire their employees.”