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Showing posts from August, 2018

Are Global Cannabis Markets Moving In Synch?

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In American political lingo, an “October Surprise” is an event or incident that is deliberately planned to impact a political election – usually during a presidential year. The cannabis industry, of course, is still highly political – starting with reform itself. So what to make of the fact that over the course of the summer, three major markets have started to align in terms of timing? Canada, Germany and The UK Moving In Synch? None of these things were original, publicly planned or announced, of course. During July, the Canadian government finally announced the recreational market start date, the German government issued its new cannabis cultivation bid (due in October), and of course, the British government announced that they would reschedule cannabis and create more access for British patients. Canadian companies, for example, are perfectly poised to enter both markets and dominate the industry What is in the air? And could this, in any way, be a deliberate cannabis indus

International Summer Cannabis Roundup

CBD Edibles: CBD Gummies, Chews, Candy and More 

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CBD Edibles: CBD Gummies, Chews, Candy and More  CBD Edibles offer patients a wonderful way to get medicated. They can be extremely beneficial to cancer patients before any or while undergoing therapy, as well as those suffering from debilitating illnesses of the stomach, nervous system, or muscular system.  Edibles are not only a great tasting, safer alternative to smoking, but also a wonderful way for patients to introduce high levels of certain cannabinoids to the system. They are allowing patients to treat their illnesses with more efficiency than ever before. For your typical recreational user, what could be more convenient for travel, concerts, or even everyday use than edibles? A few important things to consider when selecting any edibles: 1. Less = more.  Start with a small dose. It is very important to pay attention to the potency of the product.  The effect edibles will have on you depends on several factors: the quality and potency of the edibles you are using, your to

Elon Musk Clarifies His “420” Tweet Was Not About Weed

Tech mogul Elon Musk has clarified that his tweet on August 7 about taking his electric car company Tesla private was not related to weed. In the tweet, Musk wrote that he had secured financing to take the company private at $420 per share. The quoted price led some to speculate it was related to 4/20 references from cannabis culture. The tweet caused a rally in Tesla stock that led to a suspension of trading shares in the company on the Nasdaq exchange. An investigation has also been initiated by the Securities and Exchange Commission. In an interview with The New York Times , Musk said he was not high when he posted the tweet. Instead, it was just a matter of rounding numbers. Musk had calculated that a 20 percent premium on the trending share price at the time came to $419. He then simply rounded that figure up to $420. “It seemed like better karma at $420 than at $419,” Musk said . “But I was not on weed, to be clear.” Musk continued by sharing his opinion about cannabis. “

Canadian Legal Expert Calls Cannabis Breathalyzers “Flawed Approach” to Legalization

This story was originally published in  Straight Cannabis . Changes to impaired-driving laws in preparation for cannabis legalization are not only proving flawed but are threatening the charter rights of all drivers on the road, even those who have never consumed pot. Since amendments to Bill C-46 passed in June—adding more cannabis-specific laws to the Impaired Driving Act—Canadian drivers have mainly focused on what tools police will use to detect drug intoxication. The Justice Department announced that it plans to introduce a roadside saliva test to detect cannabis-impaired driving. With a few swipes of an oral-fluid collection tip over a driver’s cheeks and tongue, police officers will be able to instantly identify traces of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) —the primary psychoactive compound found in cannabis—ingested within the previous six hours. Last month, Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould announced a 30-day notice of a ministerial order to approve the German-made  Dräger Dru

EVIO Labs Massachusetts Accredited to ISO 17025

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EVIO Inc.’s Massachusetts lab announced yesterday they received ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation from the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA) . According to the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission, the body in charge of regulating the state’s cannabis industry, accreditation to ISO/IEC 17025: 2017 is a requirement for cannabis testing labs . The press release says this makes EVIO Labs Massachusetts one of only a few operating and accredited testing laboratories serving the state’s medical cannabis industry. With recreational sales coming shortly to the state, EVIO is preparing for a higher demand in their lab testing services. “We are very proud of all of the teams’ hard work that resulted in this advanced accreditation,” says James Kocis, lab director of EVIO Labs Massachusetts. “With the state-mandated laboratory regulations, EVIO upholds the high standards of testing and plays a pivotal role in ensuring consumer safety and confidence in the states burgeoning

A Look At Nectar Collectors

A Look At Nectar Collectors Concentrates are taking the smoking world by storm. Nice, clean and cool vapor is easy on the lungs and incredibly flavorful. Is it any wonder people are gravitating toward dabbing? Since concentrates are gaining popularity, people are always on the hunt for fun, new, and convenient ways to dab. While dab rigs are great, they do lack in the portability department. For on-the-go dabbers, the nectar collector comes to the rescue. What Is It? Nectar collectors are a fashionable favorite among dabbing enthusiasts. Like a pipe, a nectar collector is made up of a neck, body, and tip. In the neck, there is often a glass whip where you inhale from. The body is the area the vapor travels through, and sometimes it is filled with water for filtration. Keep in mind that not all nectar collectors need water. There are dry collectors (often called wands) that have a straight body with no area for water. For wet nectar collectors, it’s a good idea to keep them less than

British Government Agrees To Loosen Rules on Prescribing Medical Cannabis

Fewer Canadians Faced Cannabis Charges in Years Leading to Legalization

This story was originally published in Straight Cannabis . Even if one never spends a minute in jail, a charge for possessing cannabis can haunt a Canadian citizen for life. It can turn up in job interviews and at the border with the United States . Given the plant is relatively harmless to adults, a charge is a hugely disproportionate penalty for possessing a drug that Canada is in the process of fully legalizing. And so it’s good news that authorities across the country are charging fewer Canadians with possession. According to new  data  published by Statistics Canada, 2017 was the sixth year in a row to see a decline in the number of people charged with holding cannabis. Last year, 13,768 people were charged with marijuana possession. That’s down from 17,720 in 2016, from 21,320 the year before that, and from 24,535 possession charges in 2014. A CBC News   article  on the data describes 13,768 charges as the fewest recorded in 20 years. As  previously reported  by the  Straigh

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Votes to Legalize Marijuana

5,871 miles of open Pacific Ocean waters separate the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) from the coast of California. But the 15-island chain that makes up the United States’ westernmost territory is poised to do something no U.S. state has ever done. On Wednesday, 18 of CNMI’s 20 legislators voted to approve a bill to legalize cannabis for adult use. The bill would also legalize medical cannabis and industrial hemp. And if CNMI Governor Ralph Torres enacts the bill, the territory will make legalization history—twice. CNMI Would Be First U.S. Jurisdiction to Go From Total Prohibition to Full Legalization This isn’t the first time CNMI lawmakers attempted to legalize cannabis. As recently as May, the CNMI Senate approved a piece of legislation nearly identical to the House-approved bill. Procedural issues, however, stymied the bill’s progress. After another false start in the Senate, the House opted to file its own bill. It took less than a week for the full chamb

Getting Higher Results at Cannabis Trade Shows

Massachusetts Officials and Lyft Launch Joint Sober Driving Campaign

With anticipation over the legal adult-use cannabis market building up, Massachusetts state officials are bracing for what they expect will be a surge in drug-related traffic accidents. To get ahead of the problem, state police, cannabis advocates and two popular ride-sharing platforms, Uber and Lyft, are teaming up to launch an education and enforcement campaign to encourage Massachusetts drivers to pledge to drive sober. Massachusetts law enforcement and public safety officials want people to think responsibly when they consume alcohol and, soon, legal marijuana. So they’ve teamed up with representatives from Uber and Lyft to educate the public about the risks of driving drunk and driving high . Undersecretary of the state’s Office of Public Safety and Security Jennifer Queally cited a reported uptick in stoned driving in Colorado as a major motivation for Massachusetts’ own sober driving campaign. Colorado officials agree they’re having issues with folks driving high. They even la

Jefferson University Cannabis Innovation Competition Accepting Submissions

Here’s The Full Music Lineup for the Alaska Cannabis Cup

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This weekend, we’re heading up to Wasilla for the first-ever Alaska Cannabis Cup! If you haven’t gotten your tickets for the festival yet, there’s still time. Trust us—you’re not going to want to miss this. Check out the musical line-up for the 2018 Alaska Cannabis Cup: Saturday, August 11 3-3:45: DJ Ike Kicking off our Saturday concert is Belgrade-born musician DJ Ike. 4:15-4:45: Cemoni The Goddess Last year, this indie hip-hop queen was nominated for Best Female Rapper in the Alaska Hip-Hop Awards. This weekend, she will be second to take the stage. 5:15-6:00: Tayy Tarantino Alaska native and nominee for Best Male Rapper of the Year in the 2017 Alaska Hip-Hop Awards, Tayy Tarantino will be joining us on Saturday night to give us some sick beats. 6:30-7:45: Arrested Development High Times If you missed Arrested Development’s show at Reggae on the River, you can catch them this weekend in Alaska! 8:15-9:30: Method Man & Redman High Times Headlining Saturday’s show

Pharmaceutical Company Reveals Cost of FDA-Approved Cannabis Based Medicine

U.K. company GW Pharmaceuticals has revealed how much their new epilepsy drug Epidiolex will cost. Epidiolex was approved for use in the U.S. by the Food and Drug Administration in June. The drug is the first medication derived from cannabis to receive approval from the agency. Cost Revealed in Investor Call In a conference call with investors on Tuesday, the company announced that Epidiolex will cost each patient about $32,500 per year. The estimate is based on assumptions of average patient weight and dosage. The company said the cost was comparable to that of other drugs used to treat severe forms of epilepsy. During the conference call, GW Pharmaceutical CEO Justin Gover said Epidiolex will provide a reliable and safe cannabinoid treatment for patients. “This first U.S. approval not only represents a transformative milestone for our company but a historic medical breakthrough, offering patients and their families the first and only FDA approved CBD medicine to treat two severe

Quality Plans for Lab Services: Managing Risks as a Grower, Processor or Dispensary, Part 4

In the last three articles, I discussed the laboratory’s responses or defenses used to reply to your questions about laboratory results that place stress on the success of your business . The Quality Control (QC) results can cause this stress if they are not run correctly to answer the following questions: Are the laboratory results really true? Can the laboratory accurately analyze sample products like my sample? Can the laboratory reproduce the sample results for my type of sample? Now let’s discuss the most important QC test that will protect your crop and business. That QC sample is the Matrix Sample. In the last article in this series , you were introduced to many QC samples. The Matrix Sample and Duplicate were some of them. Take a look back at Part 3 to familiarize yourself with the definitions. The key factors of these QC sample types are: Your sample is used to determine if the analysis used by the laboratory can extract the analyte that is being reported back to yo

High Times Announces Launch of High Times TV

High Times is excited to announce the launch of its brand new online video streaming channel, High Times TV. Developed partly in response to streaming platforms like YouTube and Facebook banning or restricting cannabis content , HTTV will serve as an invaluable resource for cannabis-related news, education, and entertainment. The platform will benefit viewers and content creators alike as High Times is partnering with video streaming service provider Unreel to monetize videos through digital ad networks like Google Ad Manager and Roku. Content creators in the cannabis space who have had their work erased and banned now have a new platform. HTTV offers a place to stream videos that were deleted from other platforms, and a welcome home to stream and monetize new content. “Even in 2018, the truth about cannabis use is being silenced by major platforms,” says Joshua Young, founder of the channel StrainCentral. “Social media doesn’t want us to exist and propaganda is ruining society’s vie

Two Recalls Hit California Cannabis Market

Just weeks ago, the first voluntary cannabis product recall occurred under California’s new regulations. According to an article on MJBizDaily.com by John Schroyer, the recall for their vaporizer cartridges affects almost 100 dispensaries in California. Bloom Brands, the company issuing the voluntary recall, mentioned in a press release that batches sold between July 1-19, 2018 […] The post Two Recalls Hit California Cannabis Market appeared first on CBD Oil Vape Liquid Spray - Cbd Pain Relief Capsules - Weed Consortium . from WordPress https://ift.tt/2Ok8a3O via IFTTT

Orange Photonics Introduces Terpenes+ Module in Portable Analyzer

Last week at the National Cannabis Industry Association’s (NCIA) Cannabis Business Summit, Orange Photonics unveiled their newest product added to their suite of testing instruments for quality assurance in the field. The Terpenes+ Module for the LightLab Cannabis Analyzer, which semi-quantitatively measures terpenes, Cannabichromene (CBC) and degraded THC, adds three new chemical analyses to the […] The post Orange Photonics Introduces Terpenes+ Module in Portable Analyzer appeared first on CBD Oil Vape Liquid Spray - Cbd Pain Relief Capsules - Weed Consortium . from WordPress https://ift.tt/2At4PgE via IFTTT