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If administrators in the Russian Republic of Buryatia get their way, students in the region may soon be required to take drug tests. The move is similar to past proposals, many of which have been quickly condemned as human rights violations. Schoolchildren Could Face Mandatory Drug Tests As reported by Russia Today , the Republic of Buryatia is now considering implementing a new drug policy. And the way many people see it, the proposal could be a draconian and heavy handed attempt to vilify cannabis. According to the news outlet, Buryatia’s head administrator, Aleksey Tsydenov, floated the new proposal. If it is eventually passed into law, all students in the region would be subject to required drug tests . This would include all schoolchildren, seemingly without any regard for their age. Additionally, the proposal would require all first-year university students to take a drug test. Finally, Tsydenov’s proposal would also force all vocational school students to take mandatory drug...

How can I medicate myself with CBD? Medicating yourself with CBD couldn’t be easier, although there are so many options that finding your preferred method may take time. Some choose to vape CBD if they need a quick hit, whereas others may want edibles or even CBD creams. What is CBD’s legal status? While technically part of the marijuana plant, CBD isn’t bound by the same restrictions and is legal in all 50 states plus D.C. It is available to purchase without a prescription and vendors are free to distribute the product how they wish since it is not a controlled substance. Furthermore, CBD is not prohibited by the DEA, so there’s no need to be concerned about failing a drugs test due to taking CBD. What does CBD actually do? While there are few confirmed scientific reports about what CBD does (and vendors are not allowed to ‘prescribe’ CBD for medical reasons) there’s plenty of anecdotal evidence and accepted knowledge about the cannabinoid. CBD e-liquids are safe to consume and ...

Many states, even those which haven’t yet legalized cannabis for adult use, have recognized the need to address the massive, historical and ongoing disparities in drug law enforcement. Over decades, these disparities have contributed to the United States becoming the world’s largest jailer, a country not just of mass incarceration but of the hyper-incarceration of people of color specifically. More recently, these disparities have been touchstones for progressive critiques of the criminal legal system and of drug policy. Marijuana legalization efforts are regularly framed as social justice measures aimed at redressing these inequalities and their many harms. As are moves to decriminalize minor cannabis possession and even to expunge the records of people with past marijuana convictions. In Florida , however, there’s evidence to suggest that racially disparate marijuana enforcement is actually getting worse, not better. Black Floridians Four Times More Likely Than Whites To Face A...

The cannabis industry is evolving as more states begin to legalize; as the legalization of cannabis grows, the industry will need more well-informed dispensaries and dispensary employees. Unfortunately, there are employees in dispensaries without proper training and some are put in positions to recommend specific strains to patients that may not be accurate. Getting proper training is important, no matter which cannabis job you want to pursue. More Training Is Needed Currently, there are no national standards for training dispensary employees, there is not even a licensing code. Therefore, it is important for owners to investigate state laws and understand legal minimums for worker education. There are states, like Massachusetts, which requires a $500 fee for employee registration. There are other states that require cannabis employees receive a certain number of education hours on specific topics, like patient confidentiality. Overall, more than fifty percent of cannabis dispen...

The Boston-based biotech firm Gingko Bioworks Inc. recently announced a major partnership with Canadian cannabis company Cronos Group Inc. to work on what could be a groundbreaking and potentially epoch-shifting innovation in cannabis production. Taking a page straight out of Jurassic Park , Gingko wants to use plant DNA to genetically (re)produce cannabinoids directly, without growing the cannabis plants that naturally produce them. Why Grow Plants When You Can Just Make THC? The cannabis plant produces more than one hundred different chemical compounds called phytocannabinoids, or cannabinoids for short. The two most popular, market-worthy, and ubiquitous are THC and CBD . But there are dozens of other medicinally or recreationally relevant cannabinoids in cannabis. The problem is that they occur in such small or trace amounts that there’s no profitable way to extract and concentrate them at scale. Which means that to obtain these rare cannabinoids, consumers have to turn to flowe...

The rate of marijuana use by young people of college age is at its highest point in more than 30 years, according to research from the University of Michigan. The findings are from the ongoing Monitoring the Future study of drug use by young people and adults. The research is funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse at the National Institutes of Health. The study found that marijuana use by young adults age 19-22 rose in 2017, continuing a decade-long trend. John Schulenberg, a researcher and one of the study’s authors, attributed the rise to evolving perceptions of cannabis use. “In this country, laws are changing, attitudes are changing, people are not perceiving use, even regular use, as dangerous as they used to,” said Schulenberg . The research found that 38 percent of full-time college students aged 19-22 reported using marijuana at least once in the past 12 months and that 21 percent had used cannabis in the last 30 days.  The figures, which equal those ...

Kim Kardashian might be most famous for her reality television and her oft-publicized relationship with rapper Kanye West , but the 37-year-old mogul is currently trying to make a name in a much more impactful endeavor— prison reform . The Keeping Up With The Kardashians star has already facilitated the release of one former prisoner—63-year-old Alice Marie Johnson, who was serving a life sentence for cocaine trafficking. Now, it looks like Kardashian has another client on her hands with a similar story to Johnson’s—30-year-old Chris Young, who is currently serving life in prison for a non-violent drug arrest. Kim Kardashian Trying to Get Another Inmate with Non-Violent Drug Offense Pardoned Kardashian, who appeared on Jason Flom’s Wrongful Conviction   podcast on Wednesday, told the host she’s currently working on getting Young out of prison. The 30-year-old was sentenced to life without parole for marijuana and cocaine possession back in 2010. “Yesterday, I had a call ...

There are many ironies along the path towards global cannabis legalization. Too many to count. But surely one of the oddest was always going to be the reacceptance and relegalization of cannabis in China. The path so far has been, at a minimum, tortured. Ritualistic, religious, and medical use of cannabis is mentioned in Chinese texts as early as 3,000 years B.C.  and medical literature for the last 2,000 years . Fast forward through Imperial dynasties, the western Age of Empire and exploitation, a cultural and political revolution and two world wars, and it took China until 1985 to actually declare cannabis “illegal.” During the 19 th  Century British occupation, the majority Muslim Xinjang region of the country was a major cannabis producer (and exporter) to British India .This was done legally and under tariff until 1934 when the communist government cut off legal trade. Currently,punishment for possession yields10-15 days jail time and a 2,000-yuan (approximately ...

In a previous article I discussed the elephant in the room for clients of laboratory services- the possibility of errors, inaccurate testing and dishonesty. Now, I will explain how the current “smoke and mirrors” of distillation claims are impacting the cannabis industry in the recreational and medical areas. We have all heard the saying, “ignorance is bliss.” But, the ignorance of how distillation really works is creating misinformation and misleading consumers. That is, just because a cannabis extract has been distilled, doesn’t mean it is safer. There have been reports of people claiming that “Distilled cannabis productsthat are Category 2 distillate are pesticide free and phosphate free, while Category 1 has pesticides and phosphates, but within acceptable limits” The problem is that these claims of Category 1 and Category 2 cannot be proven just by saying they are distilled. Ignorance of the physical chemistry rules of distillation will lead to increased concentrations of pest...

On November 6, Missouri voters won’t just have a choice between prohibition and legal medical cannabis — they’ll get to choose among three different legalization measures, each of which takes its own approach toward a regulated and taxed cannabis industry. All three bills received certification from the Secretary of State’s office last week. Now, they’ll have to survive one more week of a 10-day interval in which those opposed can legally challenge the bills. If they do survive, they’ll end up on the ballot and Missouri voters will have their pick. Is Medical Cannabis Legalization a Sure Thing in Missouri? With three different proposals slated for the November ballot, medical cannabis legalization seems all but guaranteed in Missouri . But voters will still have to decide what shape legalization will take. Last Thursday, Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft certified two Constitutional amendments and one statute to go to vote. Certification involves making sure that each proposal recei...

Two Democratic lawmakers have introduced a bill in the U.S. Senate that would allow doctors with the Department of Veterans Affairs to prescribe medical marijuana for their patients. Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida and Sen. Bill Schatz from Hawaii introduced the measure, the Veterans Medical Marijuana Safe Harbor Act, on Wednesday. A similar measure, known as the Veterans Equal Access Act ( HR 1820 ), is pending in the House of Representatives. Nelson said in a press release that the bill will allow veterans access to the same treatment alternatives available to others through a temporary five-year safe harbor program. “Federal law prohibits VA doctors from prescribing or recommending medical marijuana to veterans,” Nelson said . “This legislation will allow veterans in Florida and elsewhere the same access to legitimately prescribed medication, just as any other patient in those 31 states would have.” If passed, the act will allow veterans to “use, possess, or transport ...

Malaysia remains a potentially dangerous place to engage in anything related to medical marijuana. And that includes distributing it free of charge to patients who could benefit from it. Just last week, a man was sentenced to death for giving medical grade cannabis oils to patients in need. Death Sentence For Distributing Medical Marijuana On August 30, a judge in Malaysia sentenced Muhammad Lukman Bin Mohamad to death. The sentence came after the judge found Lukman guilty of breaking the country’s notoriously strict anti-cannabis laws. According to local news sources in Malaysia, Lukman was arrested when authorities discovered just over three liters of cannabis oil . Additionally, he was found in possession of 279 grams of compressed cannabis. All of this occurred in December 2015. Now, nearly three years after being arrested, Lukman received his sentence. Specifically, he was found guilty of breaking Malaysia’s Dangerous Drugs Act of 1952 . This law states: “No person shall, on...

The owners of the Fumé Bistro, a restaurant and bar in California’s Napa Valley, are unhappy with a cannabis delivery service’s decision to use a similar name for its business. Terry Letson, chef and one of the restaurant’s four owners, told local media that the name of the new cannabis delivery dispensary Napa Valley Fumé is causing confusion with his business. “Now a significant part of the population thinks we’re selling marijuana, which hasn’t gone over well,” Letson said . “It’s a controversial product that’s not mainstream,” he added. Letson told  High Times  that the word Fumé is synonymous with his business with residents of the Napa Valley. “This restaurant has been Fumé Bistro for 16 years and in this small community, we’re referred to as Fumé for short,” Letson said. “So when they see Fumé out there, especially on the front page of the paper, they assume it’s us selling or delivering or distributing marijuana.” Letson said that he...

As election season approaches, the battle is heating up over Utah’s Proposition 2, a ballot initiative to legalize medical cannabis. A powerful coalition of anti-legalization groups including the Utah Medical Association and Drug Safe Utah have drawn aside the LDS Church to launch a coordinated campaign to tank Prop. 2. Throughout, proponents of medical cannabis legalization have accused opponents of spreading misinformation and misleading Utah voters about the measure. And today, they took their criticism to the next level, filing an official election complaint over Drug Safe Utah’s latest radio ad opposing Prop. 2. Drug Safe Utah Airs False and Misleading Radio Ad About Prop. 2, Group Claims Drug Safe Utah’s radio ad begins by telling listeners about an “important message about Proposition 2”. At the start, we hear a voice who identifies himself as Dr. Bill Hamilton . Hamilton is the President of the Utah Medical Association, an active and vocal opponent of medical cannabis legali...

The 6 th Annual Food Safety Consortium Conference & Expo will feature an entire track dedicated to cannabis. As announced in May of this year, the Cannabis Quality series will feature presentations by subject matter experts in the areas of regulations, edibles manufacturing, cannabis safety & quality as well as laboratory testing. The Food Safety Consortium is hosted by our sister publication, Food Safety Tech , and the Cannabis Quality series will be co-hosted by Cannabis Industry Journal . A number of cannabis-focused organizations will participate in the series of talks, which are designed to help attendees better understand the cannabis edibles market, regulations surrounding the industry and standards for manufacturers. Some highlights include the following: Ben Gelt, board chairman at the Cannabis Certification Council (CCC), will moderate a panel where leaders in the edibles market discuss supply chain, production and other difficulties in manufacturing infused produ...

Protection in the Court of Public Opinion In the last four articles , I have outlined areas that impact your operations as they apply to laboratory quality programs. But this article will take a different path. It will focus on protecting your crop and brand along with any business that utilizes your crop, such as dispensaries or edible manufactures in the court of public opinion. Now, the elephant in the room for cannabis companies is the difference between rules written by the state and their enforcement by the state. There are many anecdotal stories out there that can be used as case studies in identifying ways to protect your brand.  Remember, consumers and the media caught them, not the regulators. Cheating in the cannabis industry: growers, dispensaries, edibles manufactures, etc. This includes: Finding laboratories that will produce results that the client wants (higher potency numbers) Not testing for a particular contaminant that may be present in the cannabis produc...

The state of Montana collected $1.8 million in the first year of taxing the medical marijuana industry, according to government officials. The Montana Department of Revenue also reported that the state’s medicinal cannabis businesses had generated approximately $45 million in sales during the first year of taxation. State revenue director Gene Walborn told local media that the department was happy with the rollout of taxes on Montana’s medical marijuana industry. “We were pleasantly surprised on how well it went,” he said . “It being a new tax, we were concerned what challenges you receive with a new tax.” Medical Marijuana Taxes Began Last Year Montana began levying a quarterly tax on cannabis businesses last year with the enactment of Senate Bill 333, an overhaul of the state’s medical marijuana program. Montana has not legalized the recreational use of cannabis. Taxes for the first year were set at four percent and began on July 1, 2017. The revenue generated will be used ...