Search Results: science/ (25)

They opposed REC sales in Arizona.

Here’s your daily dose of pot news from the newsletter WeedWeek.

Several former executives of Insys Therapeutics, which sells the powerful opiate fentanyl, were arrested accused of “ bribing doctors, defrauding insurance companies, and fueling America’s opioid addiction crisis.” Insys contributed to successfully defeat Arizona’s November REC vote.

GW Pharmaceuticals reported some “pretty grim” quarterly numbers, but it could benefit from its anti-epilepsy experimental drug Epidolex which is in late stage clinical trials.

Bloomberg suggests there’s a Canadian pot-stock bubble.

Legalization in more states could depress California’s export market. And in another interesting piece by Madison Margolin, California’s “extract artisans” now have some legal protections from meth-lab laws.

Vice dives into regulatory tech which it calls the “ cannabis surveillance state.

Home grow system Leaf raised $2M.

Celebrity-branded weed costs about 24% more than unbranded. Forbes asks if the trend has gone too far.

Commercial landlords in northern California prepare for legalization.

Quartz profiles marketing company Octavia Wellness which throws pot parties for seniors.  The art world is joining efforts to re-brand cannabis.

The Denver Post’s Cannabist won most influential media source at the cannabis business awards.

A new study in Pharmacological Research, by Czech and Italian researchers, found that pot is an aphrodisiac. Read the study here.

Another study found that marijuana use may damage eyesight.

New York state wants patients to be able to access MED in hospitals. A study found that cannabis users have lower in-hospital mortality rates.

In an effort to reduce opioid use, Oregon wants opioid patients monitored for marijuana use. The health agency view on marijuana vis a vis opioid use is unclear.

The world’s first clinical trial to test MED for chemotherapy patients is beginning in Australia.

A device developed by Israeli start-up distributes “ nano-droplets” of CBD as a nutraceutical to relieve inflammation and pain is on sale in the U.S. KKTV looked at the cannabis research happening at Colorado State-Pueblo.

The U.S. is lagging Israel and other countries in cannabis research.

The Washington [state]CannaBusiness Association is starting a fund to support MED access for the needy.

 

An interesting finding

Here’s your daily round up of pot news, excerpted from the newsletter WeedWeek.

The Centers for Disease Control found that more Americans are using cannabis but the abuse rate has fallen. For additional details see here.

At the L.A. Times, Robin Abcarian looks at the links between cannabis use and psychosis.

A study found that being high decreases cannabis users’ motivation, but that it returned when they were sober.

The DEA said it would add the psychotropic tropical plant kratom, which some consider to have health benefits, to its list of schedule I substances, alongside LSD, heroin, cannabis and other drugs it considers to have no medical uses.

Israeli doctors will begin a first of its kind study to test the effects of cannabis on individuals with autism. The country also plans to start exporting MED.

New York state will expand its MED program, and allow home delivery. Crain’s New York Business asks if the state will allow the industry to thrive. Oregon licensed its first two testing labs.

This month, a Manhattan gallery owner known as Mr. Grey will host an exhibit of bongs valued between $500 and $250,000. You can see pieces from his collection on his Instagram page.

The Forward has a “ Pot Shabbat” with “Jeff the 420 Chef.” The challah, matzo balls, Brussels sprouts, potatoes and cookies were all laced.

Vice meets an Englishman who legally changed his name to “ Free Cannabis.” He planted cannabis in Glastonbury’s celebrated flower displays.

A new cannabis social network caters to seniors. Jimi Hendrix is enshrined in a new line of edibles.

The great comedian Gene Wilder died. Though it did not make the connection, The Cannabist reviewed Snozzberry, an indica dominant hybrid, named for a fruit invented by Willy Wonka. Wilder also appears to smoke weed in “Blazing Saddles.”

Way more than doctors anticipated.

The following is excerpted from the newsletter WeedWeek. Get your free and confidential subscription at WeedWeek.net.

In Colorado, the number of young children exposed to marijuana, mostly through edibles, is up 150 % since 2014, a study found. Reason and The Washington Post argue that the risk remains very small.

A study in rats found that exposure to pot smoke can damage blood vessels.

One in 13 Americans older than 12 have used marijuana in the past month, a new government studyfound. That figure has held steady for about 25-years. It’s least popular between Texas and Alabama. (Here’s a map.) States where it’s less common are more likely to be concerned about marijuana.

A Globe and Mail investigation found that mold and other contaminants are widespread in the Toronto MED supply. Colorado released numerous seized batches after they tested negative for pesticides.

Following a scare, Colorado determined that THC was not in the drinking water in the tiny town of Hugo, Colo.

A bill in Congress that would expand MED research does not include products containing THC or the parents of children with autism in its “Safe Harbor” clause.

In Arizona, a long-anticipated study to test MED on veterans with PTSD will begin seeking patients soon.

Michael J. Stevens writes on the promise of cannabis tissue culture.

The Guardian can’t find any evidence for the myth that babies are awash with endocannabinoids, cannabinoids produced by the human body at birth.

Carfentanil, a powerful opioid used to sedate elephants is causing overdoses in heroin users. Time asks if MED can mitigate the opiate epidemic. (See The Hill for more.)

A Colorado judge blocked the suspensions of four doctors, the first in the state to be punished foroverprescribing the number of plants MED patients can grow or trust to caregivers. Heavy prescribing doctors could see business decline with legalization, the Guardian reports.

Dr. Michael Soler is the first physician in Puerto Rico allowed to recommend MED.

Voters will have a clear choice in November.

The following is excerpted from the newsletter WeedWeek. Get your free and confidential subscription at WeedWeek.net.

The Democratic Party Platform states “We encourage the federal government to remove marijuana from its list as a Class 1 Federal Controlled Substance, providing a reasoned pathway for future legalization.” The Washington Post describes the language as a nod to Bernie Sanders.

For its platform, the Republican Party rejected language supporting MED. It was proposed by Dale Jackson, a GOP delegate from Georgia with an autistic son. Another delegate said mass-shooters are, “young boys from divorced families, and they’re all smoking pot.”

Donald Trump’s vice presidential pick, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence (R) opposed reducing marijuana penalties in 2013.

The Cannabist released its 2016 election guide.

The industry-loathed “ potency amendment” will not be on the Colorado ballot. Frank McNulty (R), a former speaker of the Colorado House and supporter of the measure said the industry paid signature gathering firms to not gather signatures. “Without [signature gathering companies]we didn’t have the ability to get it to the ballot,”McNulty said.

An industry spokesman denied the accusation andThe Denver Post editorial page finds it “dubious.” “ Big marijuana trashes democratic process,” the Colorado Springs Gazette editorializes.

Campaign filings released on August 1 will clarify what happened. (An email query from WeedWeek was not returned.)

The Amendment would have banned products with higher than 16% THC, which account for 80% of cannabis products in Colorado. “Make no mistake,” the Post writes, “139 was an anti-pot measure designed to gut the industry. And it’ll be back.”

With industry support, California plans to regulate water use by growers.

Hezekiah Allen, executive director of the California Growers Association, explains his ambivalence about California’s upcoming Adult Use of Marijuana Act vote: “The initiative is decidedly more friendly to big business and will lead to rapid consolidation of the industry. This is an avoidable and undesirable outcome.” (See the initiative’s exact language here.)

Montanans will vote on a measure to expand the state’s MED program. L.A. County voters will decide on a marijuana business tax to benefit the homeless. The L.A. Times tells government officials, “Legal marijuana should not be seen as the solution to your revenue problems.”

A federal judge rejected the claim that current federal laws are “so arbitrary and irrational as to be unconstitutional.” The complaint was brought by Charles and Alexander Green, two Californian brothers accused of trafficking.

A proposed MED measure in North Dakota would be too expensive, the state health department said. The Pennsylvania legislature approved growing hemp for research.

PBS/NOVA.


Over two decades ago, Russian archeologists discovered the tomb of a mummy referred to as the Siberian “Ukok Princess” buried deep beneath the frozen lands of the Altai Mountains. This discovery was highly publicized at the time due the woman’s 2,500-year-old body being so well preserved that her tattoos were still plainly visible. And while scientists revealed many interesting aspects about her final resting place, perhaps the most fascinating was the fact that in addition to a number of artifacts found in the grave was a surplus of marijuana.


In a highly unusual move, the Denver coroner’s says that marijuana intoxication was the major contributing factor in Levy Thamba’s death by jumping from a hotel balcony last month because the college student had eaten a marijuana edible before the incident.
The coroner’s office says the facts of the case explain why the decision to include information about marijuana was made, though the facts leave a lot of unanswered questions.

A new report published in the medical journal Neurology proves what thousands of multiple sclerosis patients already know: cannabis can help considerably alleviate some of the symptoms of MS. And actually, that’s exactly what Dr. Pushpa Narayanaswami, lead researcher on the report, says got him interested in the plant in the first place. The report is meant to be a guideline for physicians with patients seeking alternative treatments.

The Arizona House yesterday passed a bill removing academic research from a 2012 law that banned any and all marijuana on college campuses.
According to one researcher, this could open the doors for studies on things like post-traumatic stress disorder for returning veterans at the state level and provide much-needed peer-reviewed studies as to the plant’s efficacy.

Mother Jones
Fuel, food, shelter, healing, and spiritual enlightenment — the amazing cannabis plant it does it all!  

Marijuana Spring 2013, Part 2

By Ron Marczyk, RN

Marijuana legalization for personal use is just the start. This vote also frees medical marijuana research, hemp farming, and a return to a hemp-based economy that will play a vital part in reversing the coming man-made environmental disaster.
Marijuana prohibition criminalizes the use of the safest, most versatile plant known to man.
Marijuana prohibition is in large part a cause of global warming.
Marijuana prohibition has stopped 75 years of human progress; it is an idea that will be thrown on the scrap heap of history.  

Arkansans for Compassionate Care

Daniel Hankins urges Arkansans to vote Yes on Issue 5 to help alleviate the suffering of veterans and other patients
Arkansans for Compassionate Care on Friday started airing its second television ad in support of Issue 5, the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Act. The ad features Daniel Hankins, an Air Force veteran who was disabled when a 500-pound bomb fell on his back. As noted in the ad, Daniel also suffers from post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD) due to the fact that three close friends lost their lives in front of him.
Hankins expressed his desire to use medical marijuana to alleviate his suffering and allow him to wean off many more harmful pharmaceutical drugs. Under the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Act, veterans with PTSD would qualify to use medical marijuana if they have a doctor’s recommendation to do so.
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