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The first five recreational cannabis dispensary licenses have been announced in Illinois. The same publicly-traded corporation snapped them all up: Green Thumb Industries, which has licenses to sell adult-use marijuana at five of its seven locations that are currently focused on selling medical cannabis in Mundelein, Joliet, Naperville, Canton, and Effingham. Green Thumb Industries is headquartered in Chicago and operates 95 retail locations and 13 manufacturing industries across Illinois. Earlier this week it reported that its revenue during the last business quarter was up 228 percent from the same time period last year. “GTI is thrilled that our five stores received the state of Illinois’ first approvals for ‘same-site’ adult use cannabis licenses,” Linda Marsicano, spokesperson for the company, told a local news site. “We look forward to continuing the excellent partnerships we have in the communities we serve across the state.” Illinois’ first recreational licensing announcem...

The United States surgeon general issued an advisory on Thursday to warn pregnant people and teens about the risks of cannabis use. In the notice , Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams warns that the THC potency of marijuana has increased over the years, especially with the advent of powerful cannabis concentrates. “The scary truth is that the actual potential for harm has increased,” Adams said at a press conference with health officials from the Trump administration on Thursday. “This ain’t your mother’s marijuana.” Adams said that the potency of cannabis available in the United States has increased from about 4 percent THC 20 years ago to levels of 12 percent to 25 percent THC today. Cannabis concentrates can contain more than 75 percent THC, according to the advisory. Cannabis, he said, is the most commonly used illicit drug in the United States. Dangers Of Cannabis Use By Teens Adams said that with the legalization of cannabis in one form or another in 33 states, the perceived le...

By Teri Buhl A wholesale CBD oil company, called Folium Biosciences, is being accused of siphoning off cash to its founder Kashif Shan and another top executive in a lawsuit filed this week in Colorado state court. Kashif Shan The accusation comes while Shan is courting potential outside buyers for the company. The Colorado Springs-based company, whose legal corporate name is Whole Hemp Company LLC ,  is being sued by its former Vice President of business development and marketing, Dale Takio , after Shan allegedly tried to cut him out of his promised equity in the privately held company. The lawsuit accuses the company, Kashif Shan and Quan Nguyen of breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and demands an accounting of the company books and records. Quan Nguyen Folium made news this January when it received a $3 million investment from U.S. based Australis Capital , which is a financing spin-off of Canadian cannabis powerhouse Aurora . Australis is traded publicl...

A Michigan legislative committee approved a bill on Tuesday that would require labels on cannabis products to warn consumers about the risks of marijuana use during pregnancy and while breastfeeding. The Michigan House of Representatives’ Judiciary Committee voted 11-2 in favor of the measure, which will head next to the House floor for a vote by the full body. Under the proposed legislation, all cannabis products would be required to be packaged with a label reading: “Warning: Use by pregnant or breastfeeding women, or by women planning to become pregnant, may result in fetal injury, preterm birth, low birth weight, or developmental problems for the child.” Republican Rep. Daire Rendon, one of the bill’s sponsors, said that Michigan’s regulations should help inform and protect consumers who may be new to cannabis. “This is a brand new product that’s going out … and a lot of people automatically think ‘Wow it’s legal, it’s going to be safe,’” said Rendon . “So we felt it was very im...

A drug manufacturer at the heart of the nation’s opioid crisis is reportedly in negotiations to settle approximately 2,000 lawsuits over the marketing of the painkiller OxyContin. The proposed settlement of lawsuits brought by state and local governments could be worth up to $12 billion and would take ownership of Purdue Pharma away from the Sackler family, the company’s current owners. Under the proposal, Purdue Pharma, which is based in Stamford, Connecticut, would enter into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and the Sackler family would give up ownership of the company. The family would also be required to contribute $3 billion in personal funds to the settlement award, according to three people familiar with the deal who spoke to reporters anonymously. Another $1.5 billion would be contributed to the settlement amount by the sale of Mundipharma, another pharmaceutical company owned by the Sackler family. In 2016, Forbes ranked the Sacklers as the 19th-richest family in the U.S., ...

Following. The Press Release in full Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Monday, August 26, 2019 DEA Announces Steps Necessary to Improve Access to Marijuana Research The Drug Enforcement Administration today announced that it is moving forward to facilitate and expand scientific and medical research for marijuana in the United States. The DEA is providing notice of pending applications from entities applying to be registered to manufacture marijuana for researchers. DEA anticipates that registering additional qualified marijuana growers will increase the variety of marijuana available for these purposes. Over the last two years, the total number of individuals registered by DEA to conduct research with marijuana, marijuana extracts, derivatives and delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) has increased by more than 40 percent from 384 in January 2017 to 542 in January 2019. Similarly, in the last two years, DEA has more than doubled the ...

The state of Oklahoma has been going after the drug companies at the center of the opioid epidemic, and on Monday, state attorneys won their first case: a civil suit against Johnson & Johnson. Bringing an end to a seven-week civil trial, Judge Thad Balkman ruled in favor of Oklahoma, finding that Johnson & Johnson’s marketing practices fueled a statewide opioid crisis that claimed the lives of more than 6,000 people. As part of Judge Balkman’s decision, Johnson & Johnson must pay $572 million to the state of Oklahoma. Immediately after the ruling, the drug company issued a statement vowing to appeal the decision. How Johnson & Johnson Ignited a Lethal Public Health Crisis in Oklahoma “The opioid crisis is an imminent danger and menace to Oklahomans,” Judge Thad Balkman said in his Monday ruling against Johnson & Johnson. Throughout the case, state attorneys brought forward evidence outlining exactly how dangerous and how menacing opioids are. They showed how Okl...

A new law going into effect later this month will protect the rights of medical marijuana patients and establish regulations for the state’s fledgling medicinal cannabis industry. House Bill 2612 , or the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana and Patient Protection Act, as the measure is also known, will go into effect on Friday, August 30. Oklahoma lawmakers passed House Bill 2612 earlier this year to establish regulations after the medicinal use of cannabis was legalized by voters with the passage of State Question 788 in June 2018. Seen as a compromise between lawmakers intent on regulating the industry and patient advocates who campaigned for the constitutional amendment initiative, the Medical Marijuana and Patient Protection Act has also been referred to as the Unity Bill. The measure enacts regulations for medical marijuana providers including packaging and labeling requirements. The new law also protects patient access by prohibiting strict requirements such as a ban on smokable cannab...

Here’s the introduction to the piece and could make an interesting test case for  determining the quality of research cannabis throughout the USA. The Marijuana Time introduce their article by writing….. A cannabis researcher at Arizona’s Scottsdale Research Institute plans to sue the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) over what she is saying is low-grade cannabis that is unacceptable for testing. According to a  report from the CT Post , Dr. Sue Sisley is making the claim that the cannabis being grown at the University of Mississippi is actually closer to hemp than what is consumed on both the legal and black markets.  The federal government has taken control of the cannabis farm at the university and oversees what grows there. Dr. Sisley says that it is next to impossible to conduct proper scientific research and reach a valid conclusion with the government-approved cannabis that is being provided to her and her team at the research institute in Scottsdale....

A law firm representing several clients in the cannabis industry is urging Weedmaps to set a date for its promised crackdown on unlicensed retailers advertising on the website. Attorneys with the firm Zuber Lawler said in a press release on Thursday that the move by Weedmaps will help support California’s legal cannabis industry and deal a blow to unlicensed operators. “The decision by Weedmaps to cease carrying ads for unlicensed cannabis businesses is a critical step for wiping out the black market industry that undercuts legal retailers that play by the rules,” said Manny Medrano, a Zuber Lawler litigation partner. “It’s important to closely monitor this situation because despite Weedmaps’ announcement, the company provides no exact date for making the promised changes.” On Wednesday, Weedmaps announced that “beginning later this year” it will require retail advertisers in the U.S. to provide a state license number on their listings on the cannabis information platform. Weedm...

Moments before the age-old Rolling Stones began performing at Pasadena’s Rose Bowl Stadium on Thursday, actor Robert Downey Jr. inexplicably took to the stage and announced that the band was now the namesake of a rock on Mars. When NASA’s InSight lander touched down on Mars back in November, its thrusters evidently displaced a rock, which subsequently rolled about three feet within view of the spacecraft’s onboard cameras. NASA had never seen a rock travel that far when landing on another planet. The event was confirmed after InSight took pictures the next day, and that “several divots in the orange-red soil can be seen trailing Rolling Stones Rock,” according to a press release . While introducing the Rolling Stones onstage, Downey, Jr. briefly mentioned “two epic launches” that occurred in 1964: the release of the first Rolling Stones album, and the launch of the first flyby satellite to Mars, Mariner 4. He then praised NASA for its most recent mission to Mars, citing the moveme...

A campaign to get a ballot measure in front of Florida voters to legalize recreational marijuana in 2020 was announced Thursday. It is backed by MedMen, one of the US cannabis industry’s largest companies. The Adult Use of Marijuana initiative would give the go-ahead to adults 21 years and older to buy and possess up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis. The measure will be promoted via the dispensary chain’s “Make it Legal Florida” political committee, which was registered earlier this month. But it is not unopposed—the effort will face competition from “Sensible Florida,” a campaign started to thwart the proposed ballot measure. The measure would not explicitly allow Floridians to grow their own cannabis for recreational use. That’s to be expected from MedMen, which was part of the New York Medical Cannabis Industry Association when the group sent a memo to Governor Cuomo last December claiming that home grow operations encouraged illegal sales, and put cannabis users in danger by making it d...

Will wine tasters be set off their cabernet sauvignon should Napa County decide to allow farmers to legally grow marijuana? Local vineyard industry leaders told the Napa County Board of Supervisors that they would at a meeting on Tuesday. In response, the board decided to send the issue of local pot grows to the county’s voters in next year’s March elections. At issue was the cannabis agriculture regulations presented in Measure J, which has been backed by the cannabis industry. That proposal includes limits on the size of cannabis grow ops, and how close they can be planted next to vineyards. It also includes harsh limits on the kinds of pesticides that can be used on marijuana. The pesticide issue presents its own concerns. An expert presenting at Tuesday’s meeting concluded that unlawful chemicals could reach cannabis fields from nearby vineyards. Conversely, producers of other crops worried that cannabis farmers’ failure to include such bug killers would leave neighboring fields ...

A court in Mexico has ruled that two people should be allowed to legally use cocaine for recreational purposes, according to media reports. Under the ruling from a judge in Mexico City, the two unnamed people will be allowed to “possess, transport, and use cocaine” although they will not be permitted to sell the drug, according to representatives of the group Mexico United Against Crime (MUCD). Legal papers were filed in the case by MUCD on behalf of the two people as part of a strategy to reform Mexico’s prohibitionist drug laws and improve public safety. After the ruling, the group said the case signals a new stage in the understanding of drugs by the Mexican judiciary and offers an opportunity to end the country’s War on Drugs. “We have spent years working for a more secure, just, and peaceful Mexico,” said Lisa Sánchez , MUCD’s director. “This case is about insisting on the need to stop criminalizing users of drugs… and design better public policies that explore all the availabl...

Rapid City Journal reports……… A Colorado man who says he was delivering legal hemp to Minnesota is facing up to 36 years in prison after being arrested last month in Jackson County by South Dakota troopers who accused him of possessing and selling marijuana.  Robert Herzberg, a 41-year-old from Red Feather Lakes, is charged with intending to distribute marijuana, possessing more than 10 pounds of the drug, and ingesting marijuana and cocaine, according to his criminal complaint. If found guilty, he could be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison on the possession and distribution charges, five years for the cocaine ingestion charge, and one year for marijuana ingestion.  Herzberg’s arrest and charges is the latest incident illustrating how South Dakota’s hemp and CBD oil laws are distinct from many other states and can cause confusion about which products are legal. His case also  comes as state lawmakers study the potential risks and benefits of industrial hemp ...

They write in the press release…. During the three-day conference, and in view of 2020, members will attend workshops, plenary sessions and task force meetings and hear from notable speakers, including   Texas Governor Greg Abbott, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey, Secretary of Energy Rick Perry, White House Innovation Advisor Brook Rollins and Matthew Charles,   one of the first Americans to benefit from criminal justice reforms put in place by the First Step Act – based on an ALEC model policy. Legislators will also learn from start-up founders, visit a tiny-home community working to fight chronic homelessness, and participate in a reentry simulation to learn the challenges of rejoining society after paying one’s debt to society. “Embracing creative disruption is about the now and the future,” said ALEC CEO Lisa B. Nelson. “America’s state legislators come together at ALEC to grapple with public policy issues that didn’t exist five or ten years ago. People live and work diffe...

A public health official issued a warning about the dangers of unlicensed cannabis products following the hospitalization of seven Californians who fell ill after vaping. In a notice released last week, Dr. Milton Teske, health officer with the Kings County Department of Public Health, said that those stricken had been taken to the hospital in the Central California community after experiencing pneumonia-like symptoms. “Since June, seven cases of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) have been identified, requiring hospitalization and respiratory support among previously healthy adults,” reads the notice . “Some of these patients’ conditions were so severe they were admitted to the intensive care unit and required respiratory support through mechanical devices.” Initial symptoms of ARDS include the feeling that one can’t get enough air into the lungs, rapid breathing, low blood oxygen level, low blood pressure, confusion, and extreme tiredness. Six of the patients are in their ...

Northern California’s South Bay now has its first cannabis union. Representatives from the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) announced on Friday at San Jose City Hall that workers at the town’s MedMen dispensary location would organize. Employees at the dispensary will enjoy wages that come in at $3 above Californian minimum wage, two weeks of vacation pay, 40 percent employee discounts, and time and a half overtime holiday pay, among other benefits. As cannabis becomes legal in more and more jurisdictions, advocates and lawmakers are grappling with how to make the industry economically just, especially when it comes to individuals who were penalized under marijuana prohibition by racially biased law enforcement. Labor advocates say that unionization of the cannabis industry is one way to ensure that social equity for workers is not forgotten in the Green Rush. “I think there’s a greater responsibility for advocates like us and others to ensure that this happens,” said UFCW...

A committee of experts advising regulators in Ohio has withdrawn its recommendation to approve adding autism and anxiety as qualifying conditions for the state’s medical marijuana program. The action by the Ohio Medical Marijuana Control Program’s expert review panel on Wednesday follows a recommendation to approve the two conditions for inclusion in the program the committee issued in May. After hearing additional testimony from four physicians and reviewing several letters opposed to the plan on Wednesday, the committee voted to reverse the earlier decision. Dr. Michael Schottenstein, the president of the Ohio State Medical Board, is a psychiatrist practicing in the Columbus area. He is also a member of the review committee and opposed adding autism and anxiety to the state’s list of qualifying conditions. “Approval feels premature at this time,” Schottenstein said after the committee voted to reverse course. “For the medical board, there should be consensus to do so among respec...

Bob Dylan wrote his indelible classic “The Times They Are a-Changin’” at a moment of enormous political and cultural upheaval in the country. Nearly 60 years later, the lyrics have been invoked—in a court of law, no less—to capture the winds of change in marijuana policy . The Maryland Court of Appeals ruled 7-0 this week that the smell of pot alone is not sufficient grounds to search an individual. The court cited the state’s five-year-old law that decriminalized marijuana possession for 10 grams or less. And it also cited the king of folk. At the very top of the opinion , Maryland’s highest court placed the iconic lyrics from the song, which Dylan released in 1965 as an anthem for the Civil Rights era. The case dealt with the arrest of Michael Pacheco, a 26-year-old who was approached by a pair of Montgomery County, Maryland police officers in his parked vehicle in May of 2016. The officers testified that they smelled freshly burnt marijuana emanating from the vehicle and that they...