Weed in Review: Friday, April 20, 2018

---

Cannabis News In the United States

The History of 4/20: Around the world, April 20th is considered to be a holiday for weed with celebrations happening all over the place. The holiday ends usually at 4:20 pm, when everyone smokes together at once. Many people are unsure of the origins of this holiday, and they are still a little hazy.

Is the Senate Coming Closer to Ending Cannabis Prohibition?: The most recent news in the world of cannabis has shown that Congress could potentially be working to legalize the use of cannabis nationwide. One of Congress’s most vocal personnel against the use of drugs has now stated that he would like to begin the process of ending federal cannabis prohibition.

Yet another Texas poll shows strong support for marijuana legalization: According to a study conducted April 12-17 by Quinnipiac University, a solid 61% of Texans support “allowing adults to legally possess small amounts of marijuana for personal use.” That follows a poll from 2017, which found that 53% of Texans would support rec legalization, along with a 2016 study that showed 71% were behind the legalization of medical cannabis.

800-plus recreational marijuana businesses seek priority licensing in Massachusetts: Massachusetts regulators are allowing would-be recreational cannabis businesses to submit applications for priority certification, and so far more than 800 firms have done so – a sign of strong demand for rec licenses.

Metric Coffee Unveils Cannabis Cold Brew on 4/20: Typically serving its patrons liquid fuel, beginning tomorrow, 4/20, Chicago’s celebrated micro-roaster Metric Coffee—which landed in West Fulton a year and a half ago—will help denizens mellow out. Partners Ben Houtkamp, Darko Arandjelovic, and Xavier Alexander are introducing a limited-run batch of Hellion Cold Brew—sister brand to Metric—laced with cannabis ($13), or more specifically CBD (cannabidiol), the plant’s legal, non-psychoactive compound that’s lauded for a laundry list of therapeutic and medicinal benefits, like decreasing anxiety, alleviating pain, and combatting inflammation.

High Times Cannabis Cup 4/20 Event Rejected in Southern California: The San Bernardino, California, City Council late Wednesday denied High Times’ application the needed approval to run the event, one of the largest of its kind in the nation.

City Hall Goes Green, for the Retail Cannabis Hiring Fair: San Francisco has blazed another trail in the legal marijuana movement. The city that opened the nation’s first public marijuana dispensary, the home of the author of the first-ever statewide medical-marijuana legalization and the birthplace of the Summer of Love just hosted the Retail Cannabis Hiring Fair — the first cannabis job fair held inside a city hall.

These Female Entrepreneurs Are Cultivating a Modern Cannabis Lifestyle: Behind many of these emerging companies are female entrepreneurs, who want you to see cannabis as a natural part of self-care, right alongside your stylish skin creams and cold-pressed juices.

Marijuana Edibles Make the List of Top 10 Food Trends This Year: Delectable pastries and popular candies infused with marijuana are enormously popular wherever they are legal.

3 “Marijuana Firsts” You Should Expect in 2018: 1. A developed country legalizes the sale of recreational marijuana, 2. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves a cannabinoid-based drug, 3. Seniors change their tune on pot

Medical marijuana in Louisiana could be ready by fall 2018: Medical marijuana products could be available to Louisiana patients as early as September — 40 years after state lawmakers first approved marijuana for medical use.

---

Medical Research Updates on Cannabis

FDA Panel Votes To Approve Marijuana-Based Drug For Epilepsy: A panel of experts convened by the Food and Drug Administration voted thirteen to zero that the agency should approve a marijuana-based drug to treat rare forms of epilepsy.

FDA Seeks Comments on Potential Marijuana Reclassification Under International Drug Control Treaty: The Food and Drug Administration requested comments in a notice published in the Federal Register on April 9, 2018 concerning the “abuse potential, actual abuse, medical usefulness, trafficking, and impact of scheduling changes on availability for medical use” of five marijuana-related substances: cannabis plant and resin; extracts and tinctures of cannabis; delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC); stereoisomers of THC; and cannabidiol (CBD).  The comments will be considered in preparing a response from the United States to the World Health Organization (WHO)’s request for information regarding “the legitimate use, harmful use, status of national control and potential impact of international control” for each of these substances.

---

Cannabis News Worldwide

Israeli pharmacies to begin selling cannabis products on April 20: On April 20, Israelis will be able to pick up medical cannabis products at their local pharmacies. That’s according to an announcement from the Ministry of Health. The pharmacy pilot program is the latest development in the Israeli government’s cannabis reform policy.

---