doomed
2 weeks ago
Lawsuit Says DEA Acting In Bad Faith Over Marijuana
By: Terry Hacienda
November 22, 2024
Lawsuit Says DEA Acting In Bad Faith Over Marijuana
It has been clear the DEA is slow to change for cannabis…but have they done something shady?
It has been clear Anne Milgram, the head of the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), is no fan of cannabis and is not pleased with the push to reschedule. Now a lawsuit says DEA acting in bad faith over marijuana. David Heldreth, CEO of psychedelic research firm Panacea Plant Sciences, claims the DEA’s recent actions violate federal law and constitutional principles. Filed in filed in the U.S. District Court for Western Washington, names the Department of Justice, Attorney General Merrick Garland, DEA Administrator Anne Milgram and DEA Judge John J. Mulrooney II as defendants. So what’s going on?
It is no secret, the current President isn’t a fan of cannabis and waited 3 years to fulfill his 2020 promise to help the industry. The timing allowed his administration to pass the decision to the next president. DEA head Milgram has been reluctant about the issue despite recommendation from Health and Human Services, the Food and Drug Administration, the American Medical Association and the American College of Physicians. All of those agencies recommended the change due to clear research showing the medical benefits of cannabis, especially with cancer, chronic pain, PTSD, and inflammation. For the DEA not to follow goes against all precedent.
Heldreth’s alleges legal violations in the DEA’s rulemaking process. He contends the agency failed to consult Native American tribes despite ignificant impact rescheduling marijuana would have on tribal law enforcement and health services. Additionally, Heldreth challenges the constitutionality of the DEA’s Administrative Law Judges, arguing their appointment by the DEA administrator violates Article II of the U.S. Constitution.
Heldreth is the latest in complaints as a Veteran’s organization is claiming they have been blocked from the hearings, despite the Veteran’s administration working with the industry to figure out a pathway for veterans with PTSD.
Milgam has been obstructive to the late in term admisntration’s move, working to stop the process. After the announcement to reschedule, Anne Milgram made the unusual request of a “off the record/no notes meeting” to top deputies summoned in March for what she called the “Marijuana Meeting”. What followed with a request to the Department of Justice (DOJ) which would slow the process if not stop it. The DOJ pushed back on the request.
With millions of patients using medical marijuana, including veterans, plus thousands of mom and pop businesses, Milgram’s actions are murky. Science has changed the direction and it seems the DEA is the only agency standing against the movement.
doomed
2 weeks ago
Tilray’s alcool is fighting Tilray’s BUNK weed. 🤣😂🤣
Beer Industry Group Pushes Tighter Regulations For Cannabis Products—And Higher Taxes Than Are Levied On Alcohol.
Published on November 20, 2024 By Ben Adlin
A leading beer industry trade group has put out a statement of guiding principles to address what it calls “the proliferation of largely unregulated intoxicating hemp and cannabis products,” warning of risks to consumers and communities resulting from THC consumption.
Among other recommendations, the Beer Institute advises in the new document that lawmakers take a “zero tolerance approach” to THC and driving—a policy that could prevent casual cannabis consumers from ever being able to legally drive due to how long the drug’s metabolites stay in the body after use—and keep in place the federal ban on combining intoxicating cannabinoids and alcohol.
The group also calls for a federal excise tax on both hemp and cannabis products, “with the tax rate set higher than the highest rate for any beverage alcohol product.”
Here Is Who Cannabis Users Will Vote for in the 2024 Presidential Election
“For decades, America’s brewers and beer importers have demonstrated their commitment to fostering a culture of moderation and the responsible consumption of our products, all within a robust regulatory and and taxation system,” president and CEO Brian Crawford claimed in a statement last week. “The current patchwork of intoxicating hemp and cannabis laws and regulations do not meet the same standards to which the beer industry willingly adheres.”
The Beer Institutes’s new guiding principles on hemp and cannabis products don’t take a position on legalization broadly, saying instead that “legalization of consumable cannabis products is for American voters, state legislatures and Congress to decide.” Nevertheless, it emphasizes the the “lack of scientific data regarding the consumption of intoxicating hemp and
The trade group, which represents American brewers, importers and industry suppliers, says that if intoxicating hemp products are legalized—which, under the 2018 Farm Bill, they already are at the federal level—then “policymakers should implement appropriate regulatory frameworks at the state and federal levels that inform and protect consumers and ensure intoxicating hemp and cannabis products are marketed, sold and consumed responsibly.”
Notably, the group’s guidance does not evaluate relative harm associated with alcohol versus marijuana consumption. A separate study earlier this year by investigators at the Alcohol Research Group and RTI International, however, found that secondhand harm from alcohol was nearly six times that of cannabis. Perceived harms from opioids and other drugs also outweighed those related to marijuana.
Separate research published earlier this year also found that the use of marijuana alone was not associated with higher risk of a car crash, while alcohol—whether used by itself or combined with marijuana—showed a clear correlation with increased odds of a collision.
“The Beer Institute supports a ‘zero tolerance approach’ for THC-impaired driving until proper field measurement technology and protocol are widely available and guidance on safe levels of consumption is established,” the organization’s new guiding principles document says.
It did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the greater harms attributable to alcohol or its call for a zero-tolerance approach to THC and driving. Because THC metabolites can remain detectable in a person’s blood for weeks or months after consuming marijuana, the policy could bar casual cannabis consumers from ever legally driving.
As for mixing alcohol and cannabinoids, the statement of principles says that policymakers should not only retain the current prohibition on combining alcohol and THC but also “should prohibit co-location of the sale of alcohol beverages in the same retail venues as intoxicating hemp and cannabis products.”
Other recommendations include ensuring packaging and labeling of cannabis and intoxicating hemp don’t appeal to people under 21 and include information like product potency and health and safety warnings.
The group also wants to see “immediate and sustained medical and safety research on intoxicating hemp and cannabis products, including beverages, to help ensure consumer safety,” according to the report.
In September, the Beer Institute applauded changes backed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D) that outlawed intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoids and required all CBD products be completely free of THC.
“The Beer Institute thanks Governor Newsom for his leadership in closing an unintended loophole that has enabled the proliferation of unregulated intoxicating hemp products,” Crawford said at the time. “Intoxicating hemp products are being sold as food and beverages, despite not being deemed safe for the U.S. food supply by federal regulators, and in some cases without age restrictions.”
The Beer Institute said in an email to Marijuana Moment at the time that its position “aligns with a bipartisan coalition of 21 state attorneys general” who wrote a letter in March urging Congress to amend federal law so that intoxicating cannabinoids are not included in the federal definition of hemp.
Growing evidence suggests that frequent marijuana use is now more common among Americans than regular alcohol use. A recent study found that more Americans consume cannabis every day than drink alcohol on a daily basis. Since 1992 the per capita rate of daily cannabis consumption in the country has increased nearly 15 times over.
A multinational investment bank said in a report late last year that marijuana has also become a “formidable competitor” to alcohol, projecting that nearly 20 million more people will regularly consume cannabis over the next five years as booze loses a couple million drinkers. Marijuana sales are estimated to reach $37 billion in 2027 in the U.S., it said, as more state markets come online.
A separate study out of Canada, where marijuana is federally legal, found that legalization was “associated with a decline in beer sales,” suggesting a substitution effect.
Data from a Gallup survey published in August of last year also found that Americans consider marijuana to be less harmful than alcohol, cigarettes, vapes and other tobacco products.
At the federal level, meanwhile, Senate Democrats this week released the long-awaited text of an agriculture bill that contains several proposed changes to federal hemp laws—including provisions to amend how the legal limit of THC is measured and reducing regulatory barriers for farmers who grow the crop for grain or fiber. Some stakeholders are concerned the intent of the legislation is to “eliminate a whole range of products” that are now sold in the market.
Jonathan Miller, general counsel for the U.S. Hemp Roundtable, told Marijuana Moment that stakeholders are “trying to figure all this out,” with questions remaining about the scope of the restrictions that are being proposed.
“We’re obviously opposed to it, but we don’t know how strongly we’re opposed,” he said. “It’s certainly intended to eliminate a whole range of products, but it could eliminate the whole hemp extract industry.”
Miller added that it’s widely understood on Capitol Hill that the bill is unlikely to advance to enactment in the remainder of the session, so there will be additional opportunity to amend it.
In May, GOP House leaders released their own draft version of the agriculture legislation, which could also reduce regulatory barriers for certain hemp farmers and scale-back a ban on industry participation by people with prior drug felony convictions.
But under an amendment adopted by the House Agriculture Committee, it would also remove cannabinoids that are “synthesized or manufactured outside of the plant” from the federal definition of legal hemp. The change is backed by prohibitionists as well as some marijuana companies, who’ve described the restriction as a fix to a “loophole” in the 2018 Farm Bill.
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) said in a report in June that hemp provisions included in that spending bill could also “create confusion” for the industry due to a lack of clarity around the type of allowable products.
Anti-drug groups, law enforcement and some health organizations have called on Congress to embrace the ban, arguing that “trying to regulate semi-synthetic cannabinoids will not work.”
In addition to Miller’s amendment in the farm bill, the House Appropriations Committee in July approved a separate spending bill that contains a similar provision to prohibit cannabinoid products such as delta-8 THC and CBD containing any “quantifiable” amount of THC.
Hemp-derived cannabinoids also came up in a recent federal appeals court decision in which judges ruled that cannabinoids derived from hemp, such as THC-O-acetate, indeed qualify as hemp and are legal under the 2018 Farm Bill. In making that ruling, the court rejected the Drug Enforcement Administration’s more restrictive interpretation of the law.
How to address hemp-derived cannabinoids has caused some fractures within the cannabis community, and in some cases marijuana businesses have found themselves on the same side as prohibitionists in pushing a derivatives ban.
Lawmakers and stakeholders have also been eyeing a number of other proposals that could be incorporated into the Farm Bill—and which could come up as proposed amendments as the proposal moves through the legislative process—including measures to free up hemp businesses to legally market products like CBD as dietary supplements or in the food supply.
Also, in September, a Democratic senator introduced a bill that would create a federal regulatory framework for hemp-derived cannabinoids, allowing states to set their own rules for products such as CBD while also empowering the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ensure that certain safety standards are met in the marketplace—including making sure that products aren’t marketed to children.
Recent USDA data showed a slight rebound in the hemp economy in 2023—the result of a survey that the department mailed to thousands of farmers across the U.S. in January. The first version of the department’s hemp report was released in early 2022, setting a “benchmark” to compare to as the industry matures.
Meanwhile, USDA announced this month that it is once again delaying enforcement of a rule requiring hemp growers to test their crops exclusively at labs registered with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), citing “setbacks” at the agency that have led to “inadequate” access to such facilities.
doomed
2 weeks ago
Home / Cultivation
Veteran cannabis cultivators express renewed interest in seeds over clones
author profile pictureBy Kate Lavin, Editorial Director
Nov 18, 2024
When Mario Guzman, the creator of cannabis genetics Gelato and Sunset Sherbert, travels to Europe for events, he looks forward to meeting up with longtime friends and exchanging seeds.
“All of our global friends come, and we share genetics and talk about what we’re all planting for the following year,” Guzman told MJBizDaily during a recent phone call.
He likens the experience to the seed market that has existed for decades in the coffee shops of Amsterdam.
“They were really the culture of it: The passionate backbone of all seed sales in Europe,” Guzman said of Amsterdam-based growers and seed breeders, adding that until the medical marijuana market got a toehold in the United States, legacy growers brought seeds from outside the United States that later became the bedrock of today’s regulated market.
Popping seeds
While demand for product uniformity requires most licensed cultivators to produce marijuana from clones, BCBUD growers’ affinity for sharing genetics through cannabis seeds is alive and well in today’s regulated market.
“I still get excited when I pop a three-pack of seeds as opposed to a clone,” said Justin Sheffield, director of cultivation at BeLeaf Medical Co. in Missouri.
“To have something new, something proprietary, something that you know your team started from seed that no one else has? That still gets us excited.”
BeLeaf operates three cultivation facilities in Missouri with tens of thousands of plants in various stages of cultivation at any time.
Nonetheless, Sheffield said, “We always have a pheno hunt in the works.”
Bag appeal
Reggie Harris, co-founder of Kansas City, Missouri-based cannabis genetics company House of Kush, said most of his clients are asking for “good, hearty plants that aren’t difficult to grow.”
He believes seeds have become more popular in recent years as companies have become more concerned with disease and pests in the regulated U.S. marijuana market valued at $112 billion.
“The thought with Canadian licensed producers was that having a clone saved time from having to pheno hunt and let the plants grow out – but if you weigh the cost between potential lost crops or the extra time it takes to grow, seeds make sense,” Harris said.
“It may take a little longer to get a new strain to market, however the risk/reward is worth weighing.”
There’s no question, however, that flower “has to look and smell the part” to keep consumers loyal to your brand, Harris said.
“With the number of choices out there, cultivators are looking for hits.
“If you can consistently deliver them, they’ll keep coming back for your genetics.”
International cannabis market
When it comes to what cultivators should look for when vetting potential partners for cannabis seeds, Eugene Boukreev, head of marketing at international seed bank Fast Buds, said “detailed information about the genetic stability and quality of the seeds should be provided.”
He also recommended that growers ask for:
Confirmation that seeds are tested for germination rates.
Reviews, including references or testimonials from other cultivators.
Boukreev told MJBizDaily that North American marijuana cultivators have different preferences than their European counterparts.
“North American growers favor genetics with high THC content for more potent flower, optimized yield, unique terpene profiles that allow for marketplace differentiation,” Boukreev said, adding that resistance to disease and pests also are key priorities.
“European growers’ priorities are a little different.
“They must remain compliant with stringent THC limits and local regulations, so we see a higher demand for limited-THC strains as well as strains with specific medicinal properties.”
The Vault at MJBiz
Voice of the Plant is bringing best-in-class genetics from Europe and the United States for a first-of-its-kind collaboration with MJBizCon, taking place Dec. 3-6 in Las Vegas.
“The community coming together, that’s the most important part,” Guzman said, “and pushing the culture forward.”
To accomplish that, Voice of the Plant (VOP) is curating The Vault at MJBizCon, a section of the trade show floor where seed breeders hand-selected by VOP will offer cash-and-carry genetics for the first time at the world’s largest cannabis business conference and trade show.
“True geneticists aren’t just botanists; they really are artists,” Deych said.
Winning cannabis genetics
For Guzman and Deych, comparing how genetics perform with other cultivators in their circle is part of the experience they seek to replicate through The Vault at MJBizCon.
“Everyone involved in The Vault, we’re going to open up the best of our genetic libraries to the world,” Guzman said.
“Our hope is to create an environment for people to openly share, like they have been doing in Europe for decades, but now on U.S. soil.”
Guzman and Deych said genetics enthusiasts big and small will appreciate the thought leadership they’re assembling for The Vault, including representatives from:
Abstrax Terpenes of Irvine, California.
Barney’s Farm of Amsterdam.
Conception Nurseries of Sacramento, California.
Sensi Seeds of Amsterdam.
“BCBUD has known the importance of genetics and how that root truly is the center of the business,” Guzman said.
Canadian large producers bought bad genetics to start their business.
They grow mold at scale and they Gamma irradiate, burning terps.
Night and day with BCBUD.
It all makes it easy for buyers.
doomed
3 weeks ago
They were off to a bad start 6 years ago.
They have the same problem today.
Mold.
Sell mold to a sick Canadian once and you are done for. Words move fast with today’s techs.
Recalls are you best ads. Keep them up!
Home / Cultivation
California cannabis recalls highlight importance of decontamination
By Arthur de Cordova, Guest Columnist
November 15, 2024
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Just Released! Get realistic market forecasts, state-by-state insights and benchmarks with the new 2024 MJBiz Factbook member program, now with quarterly updates. Make informed decisions.
Image of a petri dish swab at a cannabis lab
(Photo by Matthew Staver for MJBizDaily/Emerald)
(This is a contributed guest column. To be considered as an MJBizDaily guest columnist, please submit your request here.)
Image of Arthur de Cordova
Arthur de Cordova (Courtesy photo)
In August, California’s Department of Cannabis Control issued five marijuana product recalls that cited the presence of aspergillus, bringing the total number of such recalls to 21 for 2024.
This sharp rise in mold-related recalls – particularly for aspergillus – has cannabis cultivators across the state on high alert.
While most strains of this common mold are harmless, certain species can cause severe respiratory problems in people with weakened immune systems, asthma or underlying lung conditions.
With the health of consumers and the profitability of cultivators at stake, a “decontamination step” or “kill step” in the cultivation process can act as a proactive safeguard.
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Aspergillus and cannabis
Aspergillus thrives in warm, humid environments and can be found in soil, decaying vegetation and even the air.
Its tiny spores can travel long distances, making them difficult to contain in indoor or outdoor grow operations.
While most people are not affected by aspergillus exposure, certain species can cause infections, ranging from mild allergies to invasive aspergillosis, a potentially fatal condition.
Given that medical cannabis is often used by immunocompromised patients, the stakes are even higher when it comes to ensuring mold-free products.
Reacting to mold
When a marijuana product fails a state-mandated lab test because of high levels of mold, the options for cultivators are costly.
Failed products are typically remediated or turned into extract, both of which result in reduced profit margins.
Specifically, remediated flower is flagged in Florida-based Metrc’s cannabis track-and-trace systems and labeled with an “R” in the supply chain, which negatively affects its market appeal and drives price erosion.
This reactive approach is not sustainable for marijuana cultivators trying to maintain a competitive edge and profitability.
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Additionally, when the federal government decides to regulate cannabis, officials likely will approach it like any other agricultural commodity or medical product and require cultivators to treat flower for mold and pathogens before testing.
The milk industry, for example, pasteurizes all milk before sale out of an abundance of caution.
Cannabis decontamination
A microbial control step or decontamination step can significantly reduce the presence of mold before marijuana products are submitted for lab testing.
A decontamination step aims to reduce the microbial levels present in the flower, typically through a sanitization or sterilization process.
By integrating this precautionary measure into their standard operating procedures, cultivators can avoid the financial and reputational damage associated with failed lab tests and product recalls.
Despite the benefits, some operators in the industry have been hesitant to adopt a decontamination step, afraid that it signals a mold issue within the grow facility.
However, the reality of cultivating agricultural crops is that mold and other pathogens are ever-present threats that spread through air, water and human contact, regardless of how clean a facility might be.
Fortunately, solutions exist that do not compromise the quality of the marijuana flower.
Decontamination solutions
Several solutions exist to eradicate aspergillus and other molds and pathogens from cannabis:
Radio frequency treatment is a method approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Department of Agriculture to kill pathogens in the food industry; it generates heat evenly throughout cannabis flower and has negligible impact on terpenes, trichomes or appearance.
X-ray radiation emits photons that penetrate the flower and deactivate harmful pathogens’ DNA.
Ozone gas significantly reduces microbial levels on plant material, including cannabis.
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Protecting your brand
For marijuana cultivators, a product recall can be catastrophic – not only in terms of lost revenue but also in terms of damaged public perception.
If a consumer purchases a recalled product or one that contains mold, they will likely not give the brand a second chance.
With many of the nation’s largest regulated marijuana markets increasingly saturated, consumers can easily switch to another brand.
Product recalls have the power not only to damage a brand’s reputation with consumers but also the entire distribution system.
In an industry as competitive as marijuana, cultivators doesn’t get a second chance.
doomed
3 weeks ago
Tilray’s hit again
Israel: Report now proposes up to 175% tax on Canadian cannabis imports
NOVEMBER 12, 2024 | DAVID BROWN
Israel’s Ministry of Economy has proposed levies of up to 175% on Canadian cannabis products being sold in the country’s medical cannabis program.
In a report published on November 10, Israel’s Director of Import Administration and Commissioner of Anti-dumping measures at the Ministry of Economy shared the agency’s final report.
The report determined acceptable prices for specific Canadian cannabis companies based on their cooperation with the report and sale prices in the Canadian market. A final ruling on the proposed levies is still pending.
The investigation, which was first announced this past January, was around allegations of “product dumping” of Canadian cannabis into the Israeli market. In July, the government agency released its preliminary report on the topic, proposing tariffs from 63% to 369%, depending on the cooperation of the companies involved.
Initially, the commissioner recommended a floating levy or tariff of 63% for Decibel, 74% for Pure Sunfarms, 112% for Organigram, and 369% for all other producers.
The new, sprawling 126-page final report proposes fees starting as low as 2% for Decibel cannabis, 33% for Village Farms (Pure Sunfarms), 39% for Organigram, and 77% for Tilray. All other companies would face a levy of up to 175%.
The new recommendations are still subject to a final ruling from an advisory committee before potentially coming into force. The preliminary report states that the commission will also submit a report on its findings to the World Trade Organization.
During the investigation, Israeli cannabis companies said they were forced to sell products at or below cost due to competition with lower-priced Canadian cannabis. Producers also said they were forced to destroy large amounts of cannabis they could not sell, in part due to these imports.
Israel imported 78,394 kilograms of cannabis from 2020-2023, with 62,345 kilograms coming from Canada, or approximately 80%. Other countries of origin were Portugal, Uruguay, and Uganda. However, since 2020, the ratio of Israeli products compared to imported cannabis products has increased with domestic cannabis eclipsing imports in 2021, 2022, and 2023.
According to the data from the Israeli Ministry of Health, in 2020, the country imported 14,778 kilograms of cannabis and produced 13,922. By 2023, that figure had shifted to 15,950 kilograms imported (of which 14,408 kg was from Canada) and 51,750 produced domestically.
Israel is not the only country that has seen concerns raised about the impact. Some cannabis producers in Australia have shared similar concerns.
Many Canadian companies have touted their export sales to countries like Israel as a way to command a better price than in the domestic market and deal with the large volume of product in their vaults.
Despite the increased costs associated with exports, including special approvals and certifications, producers often find better payment terms in the export market than selling into provincial markets, where payments can take weeks or even months.
The new Israeli report includes feedback from Canadian and Israeli cannabis producers and stakeholders. The report argues that Canadian producers sell cannabis into the Israeli market at a lower price than can be sold in the Canadian market, a claim disputed by Canadian stakeholders like the Cannabis Council of Canada and the cannabis companies they interviewed.
doomed
3 weeks ago
Home / Finance
Why can’t they make money selling cannabis?
Missing know how.
Marijuana MSO Curaleaf secures $40M line of credit, reports Q3 loss of $44M
By Me
November 11, 2024
Marijuana multistate operator Curaleaf Holdings said it has secured a $40 million revolving line of credit from a “major commercial regional bank.”
Curaleaf will use the credit line from Needham Bank in Massachusetts for general corporate purposes and working capital, according to a news release.
Boris Jordan, the New York-based MSO’s chair and CEO, said the credit line will provide flexibility traditionally not available to the cannabis sector and allows the company to continue growing in what continues to be a difficult capital-raising environment.
“In my first few months in my new role as CEO, I’ve been focused on cost-savings measures across every facet of the business with the intent of driving profitable growth,” he said in a statement.
“With our new revolving credit facility, we will have an opportunity to better support various business needs across the globe.”
The two-year revolving credit facility has a maturity date of Dec. 15, 2026, with an interest rate of 7.99%.
Curaleaf secured the credit facility on the heels of reporting a $44 million loss in the third quarter.
The company’s third-quarter revenue of $331 million represents a decrease of 1% year-over-year.
After Curaleaf released its third-quarter financial report, Jordan said that he is optimistic the pro-marijuana stance that President-elect Donald Trump revealed on the campaign trail will lead to federal reform, including approval of rescheduling and the Secure And Fair Enforcement Regulation (SAFER) Banking Act.
“Trump closed his speech last night by saying ‘promises made, promises kept,’” Jordan told analysts.
“We’ve already been in touch with his transition team to ensure that the new administration follows through on its commitments made to the industry.
“In our expertise, historically, President Trump has put an effort to deliver on his campaign promises, and we see no reason why this time would be different.”
The company trades as CURA on the Toronto Stock Exchange and CURLF on the over-the counter markets.
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