Tag: United States

9/22/19--Juul Labs Inc. pursued a strategy to win over Washington. But the e-cigarette maker wound up further alienating regulators, helping to thrust the once-soaring startup into a crisis that threatens its business. Read

9/27/19--According to Dr. Sanjay Gupta, we are in an age of wisdom, but also an age of foolishness. Gupta further states that great strides have been made with with medical marijuana, but some of the same mistakes that led cannabis to be vilified and misunderstood in the first place have been repeated. Read

9/28/19--Lowell Cafe, America’s first lounge to allow consuming cannabis, opens on Monday in West Hollywood. For the first time in the country, customers will legally be able to order pot that can be smoked in pre-rolled joints or vaped -- even as the industry is grappling with a spike in lung damage and deaths linked to vaping. Read

9/27/19-- NBC News tested 10 THC vape pens from unlicensed dealers and all 10 tested positive for a myclobutanil, pesticide that can turn into hydrogen cyanide when burned. “You certainly don’t want to be smoking cyanide,” Antonio Frazier, the vice president of operations at CannaSafe, told NBC News. “I don’t think anyone would buy a cart that was labeled hydrogen cyanide on it.” Read

9/28/19--The Oregon Health Authority is recommending that Gov. Kate Brown ban for six months the display and sale of all vaping products, both nicotine and cannabis based. The recommendation is one of six related to curtailing use of vaping products across the state and comes after state officials, including the governor, urged consumers to voluntarily stop using vaping products. Read

9/30/19--A notice of civil claim filed in B.C. Supreme Court claims e-cigarette giant Juul targets minors with misleading advertising by claiming its products are safer and healthier than smoking. In documents filed today naming Juul Labs Canada and Juul Labs Inc., plaintiffs Jaycen Stephens and Owen Mann-Campbell say they were 18 years old when they started using Juul e-cigarettes in 2018. Read

11/1/19--According to a study published in Science Direct, youth who engage with cannabis promotions and brands had higher odds of past-year cannabis use. After adjusting for several possible confounders, youth who liked or followed a cannabis business on at least one social media platform had 5 times higher odds of past-year cannabis use. Read

10/10/19--As of October 8, 2019, 1,299 lung injury cases associated with the use of e-cigarette, or vaping, products have been reported to CDC from 49 states, the District of Columbia, and 1 U.S. territory. Twenty-six deaths have been confirmed in 21 states, and all patients have reported a history of using e-cigarette, or vaping, products. Read

10/2/19--The announcement by health officials last week of a second Oregon death in an outbreak of respiratory illnesses has pressed the governor to the brink of issuing a six-month ban on all vaping products. Read

10/3/19--Within hours of Governor Charlie Baker’s emergency ban last week on vape sales, products that consumers and medical marijuana patients had relied on for years suddenly disappeared from store shelves. Now, the Baker administration is facing a series of lawsuits and protests, part of a growing backlash from critics who insist the hastily conceived ban will ultimately harm, not improve, public health. Read

9/24/19--The corporations that own CNN, CBS, TNT, TBS and other major broadcasting brands have announced that they will not air advertisements for e-cigarettes amid the ongoing investigation of vaping-related lung illnesses that have sickened hundreds of Americans and killed seven people. Read

10/4/19--Governor Charlie Baker’s four-month ban on all vaping product sales was expected to survive its first major legal challenge after a federal judge in Boston seemed cool to arguments seeking a temporary halt to the ban. Baker’s ban is considered one of the strictest vaping regulations nationwide. Read

10/4/19--Many LGBTQ people are at the center of the growth of the marijuana industry. Colton Griffin, CEO of Flourish, an Atlanta-based company that helps medical marijuana companies monitor logistics, is one of the LGBTQ people playing a role in Georgia’s booming medical marijuana business. Read

10/4/19--In its continued efforts to protect the public, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is strengthening its warning to consumers to stop using vaping products containing THC amid more than 1,000 reports of lung injuries—including some resulting in deaths—following the use of vaping products. Read

10/5/19--Each state that reforms its marijuana laws must decide how it will allocate production rights. Currently, states severely restrict the number of licenses awarded to cannabis growers, ensuring corporate domination of the industry. Rules favor well-connected corporate growers rather than independent farmers, much less independent farmers of color. Read

10/6/19--Thousands of people crowded Hotbox Farms in Ontario Saturday for the dispensary's grand opening, and to see artist Snoop Dogg perform live. Hotbox Farms is the third dispensary to open in Ontario, and the opening comes as Oregon Governor Kate Brown announces a temporary ban on flavored vaping products. Read

10/6/19--It’s still unclear what is causing the lung damage that has hospitalized 805 people and killed 18. But most of the cases have been traced back to illicit products, health officials say. In a cluster of 12 cases treated in the Central Valley’s rural Kings County, where cannabis is illegal, every patient vaped using cannabis or cannabis oil devices bought from an illicit “pop up” shop. Read

9/19/19--Revenue from sales of marijuana vaporizers at licensed cannabis stores in Massachusetts has plunged 25 percent amid widespread consumer health concerns about the devices, according to data provided to the Globe by the Cannabis Control Commission. Experts said the change, which is almost certainly because of warnings from state and federal authorities that vaporizers are probably the cause of a mysterious outbreak of lung ailments. Read

9/19/19--Amid a multitude of reports about severe lung illnesses associated with vaping, federal health agencies have urged everyone to avoid electronic cigarettes and cautioned that pointing blame at any one brand, chemical, or substance in isolation is premature. Read

9/20/19--A survey examining the prevalence and patterns of marijuana use among adults with and without medical conditions using data from 169 036 participants in the 2016 and 2017 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System surveys found that, compared with adults without medical conditions, adults with medical conditions had a significantly higher prevalence of current and daily marijuana use, were more likely to report using marijuana for medical reasons, and were less likely to report using marijuana for recreational purposes. Read

9/20/19--Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a proposed rule to set forth requirements related to the content, format and FDA’s review and communications procedures for premarket tobacco product applications (PMTAs) as part of the agency’s continued commitment to its oversight of e-cigarettes and other tobacco products. Read

9/20/19--The American Bar Association hosted a roundtable discussion in Chicago on Thursday during which executives from some of the cannabis industry’s biggest companies debated current trends in the industry and weighed predictions about what’s next. Read

9/20/19--The Senate Appropriations Committee approved Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s additions to the 2020 Senate Agriculture Appropriations Bill. If implemented, the bill will require the Food and Drug Administration to pick up speed on developing more permissive guidance on hemp-derived CBD products, paving the way for increased business opportunities. Read

9/18/19--The reports of injuries and deaths, a mysterious lung disease, contaminated products, and heightened public health concerns due to vaping have generated international headlines, and captured the attention of state and federal lawmakers. Legal experts expect that lawsuits will soon follow as a result vape-related injuries—and soon. Read

9/20/19--This survey study using data from 169,036 participants in the 2016 and 2017 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System surveys found that, compared with adults without medical conditions, adults with medical conditions had a significantly higher prevalence of current and daily marijuana use, were more likely to report using marijuana for medical reasons, and were less likely to report using marijuana for recreational purposes. Read

9/6/19--In July 2019, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services and the Illinois Department of Public Health received reports of pulmonary disease associated with the use of e-cigarettes (also called vaping) and launched a coordinated public health investigation. Results indicate that although the features of e-cigarette use responsible for injury have not been identified, this cluster of illnesses represents an emerging clinical syndrome or syndromes. Additional work is needed to characterize the pathophysiology and to identify the definitive causes. Read

9/6/19--The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in late August 2019 that at least 215 acute, severe respiratory distress cases have been identified, spanning 25 states, and more recently at least 2 deaths have occurred. Although more investigation is needed to determine the vaping agent or agents responsible, there is clearly an epidemic that begs for an urgent response. Read

9/6/19--Lung injury associated with vaping has been recognized in the medical literature, and a case series of such injuries is now published in The New England Journal of Medicine. Four imaging patterns have been identified that correlated with pathological findings attributable to vaping, including acute eosinophilic pneumonia, diffuse alveolar damage, organizing pneumonia, and lipoid pneumonia. In addition, some cases were associated with variegated imaging patterns. Read

9/7/19--Illnesses and even deaths, that doctors believe could be linked to vaping, have been topping the headlines. According to Dr. Wilson Compton Deputy Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, it's happening in middle and high schools across the country, and more and more youth are reporting use of these butane hash oil or other marijuana vaping products than ever before. Read

9/2/19--Results from a study examining the unique and interactive effects of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and days using alcohol, opioids, and marijuana on PTSD symptoms, suicidal ideation, and suicidal behavior indicate suggest marijuana, especially for military personnel experiencing elevated PTSD symptoms may negatively impact suicidal thoughts and behavior. These results are relevant to suggestions that medical marijuana could be used in treating or augmenting treatment for PTSD. Read

9/6/19--After a rash of suspected vape pen-related lung disease cases nationwide, the chemical makers responsible for selling new cannabis additives appear to be reacting. On Monday morning, officials at the federal Centers for Disease Control reported that as many as five deaths and 450 cases of suspected acute respiratory distress syndrome have been associated with vaping THC products. Illicit market vape carts tainted with unapproved additives are a leading suspect in the outbreak. Read

9/6/19--Senior operating staff working at CannTrust Holdings Inc.’s Pelham, Ont. facility late last year brought marijuana seeds from the black market into production rooms, leading to some illicitly-grown pot flowing into the legal market, according to internal company documents obtained by BNN Bloomberg and four sources directly familiar with the matter. Read

9/9/19--A recent outbreak of pulmonary illnesses tied to electronic vaping devices has reportedly caused five deaths and sickened 450 people, but state-legal cannabis retailers across the United States have not yet been hit by a serious downturn in vaporizer cartridge sales as a result of public panic. Read

8/20/19--The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is investigating the sudden emergence of severe lung disease linked to vaping in 14 states. Ninety-four possible cases of severe lung illness associated with vaping were reported from the end of June to Aug. 15, the CDC reported on Saturday. Thirty of those cases were in Wisconsin alone. Other states that appear to be especially affected are Illinois, California, New York, Indiana and New Jersey. Read

8/20/19--Spending on cannabis, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine by Americans reached nearly $150 billion in 2016, with a large proportion of spending coming from the small share of people who use drugs on a daily or near-daily basis, according to a new RAND Corporation report. Read

8/21/19--Using the largest database of real-time recordings of the effects of common and commercially available cannabis products in the United States, researchers found strong evidence that cannabis can significantly alleviate pain, with the average user experiencing a three-point drop in pain suffering on a 0-10 point scale immediately following cannabis consumption. Read

8/8/19--In a systematic review of 6 human studies and 13 basic science and animal studies, cannabis inhalation was associated with dark vocal folds on laryngoscopy as well as respiratory symptoms and negative lung function changes attributable to degradation byproducts generated during smoke exposure, especially in large doses. Read

8/21/19--The Environment Protection Agency (EPA) announced on Wednesday that it is seeking public input on 10 pesticide applications for hemp. The pesticides under consideration are already approved for use on other crops, but that approval does not yet extend to hemp. In a draft notice set to be published in the Federal Register, EPA said providing hemp farmers with this tool “will likely be essential to supporting the success of this industry going forward.” Read

8/21/19--According to a new study conducted by researchers from the University of New Mexico, the most effective for pain relief among the overwhelming variety of marijuana products available on the market today appears to be whole dried marijuana flower and products high in THC. The study’s goal was to gauge how the severity of pain changed and what side effects were experienced after cannabis consumption, and whether these effects differed by product. Read

8/21/19--Women undergoing fertility treatment who smoke marijuana may have more success if they quit, recent research suggests. Among more than 400 women undergoing treatment with assisted-reproduction technology (ART), the small fraction who reported using cannabis at the time were more than twice as likely to lose a pregnancy than those who had never smoked marijuana, or who had only used it in the past, Dr. Jorge E. Chavarro of Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston and his colleagues found. Read

8/19/19--A study was conducted focusing on understanding the risk and protective factors related to substance use from adolescence to young adulthood. Overall, results suggest that young adults after recreational marijuana legalization are more likely to use marijuana than young adults were before recreational marijuana legalization 10 years earlier. Read

8/22/19--On December 18, 2018, the US Surgeon General declared e-cigarette vaping among adolescents an “epidemic”, and in a public hearing in January 2019, the former US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner, Scott Gottlieb, stated that e-cigarettes pose an “existential threat” to youth. These statements summarize the current story of how loosely regulated products intended to help individuals quit traditional combustible cigarettes became the fastest growing abused substance and the Achilles’ heel of our youngest generation. Read

8/22/19--Women undergoing fertility treatment who smoke marijuana may have more success if they quit, recent research suggests. Among more than 400 women undergoing treatment with cannabis health (ART), the small fraction who reported using marijuana at the time were more than twice as likely to lose a pregnancy than those who had never smoked marijuana, or who had only used it in the past, Dr. Jorge E. Chavarro of Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston and his colleagues found. Read

8/22/19--As part of a broader company rollout, supermarkets in The Kroger Co.’s Houston division have begun the sale of hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD) topical products. Kroger said yesterday that CBD lotions, balms, oils and creams are now on shelves at 88 stores in Houston and the surrounding area, as well as online via the Ship.Kroger.com direct-to-customer service and the retailer’s Vitacost.com e-commerce unit. Read

8/19/19--In the United States where marijuana is legal, traditional drug dealers are still formidable competitors. The black market will also loom large for investors. The U.S. marijuana market is huge, yet it still remains to be seen how much business remains in the hands of illegal dealers. Read

8/22/19--About a half hour south of Albany, Curaleaf is a facility that has thousands of plants that will eventually be converted into prescription medicine for cancer and AIDs patients, as well as those who suffer from seizures and other severe illnesses. The company says it's pleased with the pace New York has been on to expand the program to other illnesses. Read

8/22/19--Ziggy Marley started smoking marijuana at the age of nine. The 50-year-old musician "can't even remember" when he had his first puff of the psychoactive drug but he knows he was "too young" to dabble with marijuana and only did it because his father Bob Marley encouraged him to do so as part of their religion. Read

8/12/19--Researcher Andrew Rogers from the University of Houston has found that adults who take prescription opioids for severe pain are more likely to have increased anxiety, depression, and substance abuse issues if they also use marijuana. Read

8/10/19--Besides ranking colleges overall each year, this year The Princeton Review looked at the top 20 universities where students use marijuana the most and least. To compile the list, released earlier this week, Princeton Review asked 140,000 students at 385 schools a simple question: “How widely is marijuana used at your school?” Read

8/9/19--According to Michael Smoker, an addiction neuroscience Ph.D. candidate in the psychology department at IUPUI and one of the researchers conducting a study on the behavioral and physiological effects of eating food infused with marijuana, marijuana edibles can elicit extreme, adverse reactions. Therefore, understanding the health effects of eating marijuana edibles is important, given the growing popularity of that method of consumption in states where marijuana has been legalized. Read

8/9/19--At least two U.S. universities have just introduced high-level courses for students interested in a career in the marijuana business. Maryland University’s School of Pharmacy will offer a master’s degree in medical marijuana. Cornell University has introduced a course called “Cannabis: Biology, Society and Industry.” Read

8/12/19--In this systematic review and meta-analysis, the odds of past or current marijuana use among youth who used e-cigarettes were 3.5 times higher than for those who denied e-cigarette use; this association was significant in both cross-sectional and longitudinal studies. Studies conducted in adolescents aged 12 to 17 years (vs young adults aged 18 to 24 years) showed a stronger association between e-cigarette and marijuana use. Read

8/12/19--The chairman of the influential House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), who last month filed legislation to remove marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act and begin repairing the harms of prohibition enforcement, authored a message to NORML's email list on Monday asking the advocacy group's supporters to write their own members of Congress in support of his bill, the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement (MORE) Act. Read

8/12/19--Oregon activists are one step closer to getting a psilocybin legalization measure on the state’s 2020 ballot. The organizers behind it are putting their resources into an initiative that would create a regulatory framework for the legal use of psilocybin for therapeutic purposes. Read

8/12/19--A University of Minnesota study examined whether eating high-fat foods after taking CBD increased the body’s absorption of CBD. The study tested whether fasting or a high fat meal has an effect when cannabidiol oral capsules were taken by patients. The study found CBD exposure is vastly increased when CBD is taken with high fatty foods; when compared to fasting, taking CBD with food increased the amount of CBD in the body by four-times and the maximum amount recorded in the participants’ blood by 14-times. Read

8/12/19--After a bill to commercialize the drug and put pot shops on every corner passed the House, state senators killed the bill over concerns about public safety and health in New Mexico. Yet, Big Marijuana and its backers refuse to give up on so much lost profit, as evidenced by the convening of the Governor’s Working Group on Cannabis Legalization this week. Read

8/12/19--The infused edible and beverage industry has become one of the fastest-growing market segments in the marijuana industry. A variety of beverage producers are now even infusing CBD and THC into sodas, tea, functional drinks, and even alcohol, and with the rapid growth of the infused beverage market, many large corporations are beginning to explore opportunities within the market. Read

8/12/19--Three noted marijuana stocks unveiled their latest quarterly figures last week -- Cronos Group, hemp cannabidiol (CBD) products specialist CV Sciences (OTC: CVSI), and maker of cannabis-based medicine GW Pharmaceuticals. Of the three, GW Pharmaceuticals had the best quarter by a wide margin. Read

8/11/19--Nearly all Democratic presidential candidates in the 2020 elections have come out in support of some form of legalization or decriminalization of the marijuana, but perhaps no candidate has been more vocal about this stance than Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). Sanders has proposed a unique means of bringing the green rush to the United States. As reported by Newsweek, Sanders would use a presidential executive order to make it so. Read

8/12/19--Because marijuana and hemp are both from the cannabis plant and smell identical, dogs can’t tell the difference, so both the Ohio Highway Patrol and the Columbus Division of Police are suspending marijuana-detection training for new police dogs to uncomplicate probable cause issues in court. Read