Is this a massive power grab to try to criminalize all hemp extracts, even when they contain virtually no THC? Or is it just an administrative housekeeping announcement for international treaty compliance?
The hemp industry says this move by the DEA is no big deal, and they’re even prepared to challenge it in the courts. I’ve been told by some of the largest CBD product companies in America that they aren’t going to stop selling their CBD hemp extracts.
This may put the hemp extract industry on a collision course with the DEA. But with Trump taking office, the DEA could be headed for some huge changes anyway. It’s all very fluid right now, so stay informed on all the news related to hemp science at HempScience.news
Be sure to check Censored.news for all the real news on hemp and CBD that the mainstream media is trying to censor.
Here’s the full video:
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As reported by the Sarasota Herald Tribune, despite the vote, some lawmakers and state officials say they are concerned about how medical marijuana will be regulated and whether, over the long term, “those 6.4 million residents made the right call.”
At a local Manatee Tiger Bay Club meeting recently, a proponent of medical pot, along with an addiction specialist who opposes legalization, debated about what will come next now that the electorate has (loudly and clearly) spoken.
The president of Advocate Inc., Bill Monroe, said he became involved in the medical marijuana issue some five years ago after researching a number of potential medications that could ease tremors being experienced by his elderly mother due to Parkinson’s disease, while also helping to boost her appetite.
‘Be a free thinker’
In doing so, Monroe said he discovered that a number of states and countries have legalized pot without undergoing major consequences.
“Be a free thinker,” he said during the forum. “Use your logical thinking. Are you seeing global chaos?”
Not from pot use; we’re seeing plenty of chaos from the abuse of prescription opioids, which has led to a dramatic increase in overdose deaths from them and from cheaper heroin, however.
Advocates, said Monroe, do not object to regulations pertaining to labeling, keeping cannabis out of the hands of children and other safety measures. In fact, he said he would prefer the state adopt a rule that pot from licensed growers be independently tested by free-standing labs to make sure that it is “free of heavy metals and pesticides.”
Monroe added that his group also “want the doctor-patient relationship,” thereby letting physicians “decide what the patients need.”
He further noted that synthetic THC—the chemical that produces marijuana’s psychological effects—has been legal in the U.S. since 1985 and is even available in many pharmacies. All that is being discussed since the Nov. 8 ballot measure approval is “organic THC,” he said, adding that he believes reports that claim outsized dangers over pot use are exaggerated.
Jessica Spencer, the policy director of the group “Vote No on 2,” which opposed the state constitutional amendment, stressed that doctors are still not able to legally prescribe marijuana because the federal government has not approved of it. Pot is still a Schedule I drug and Congress has so far not taken up the measure legislatively to get that changed.
Spencer said the amendment only allows doctors to “recommend” medicinal cannabis, while patients would then obtain it from approved dispensaries instead of pharmacies.
Concerns aside, it is time to move forward with the intent of the amendment
In recent days the Manatee County Commission and the Bradenton City Council both adopted a six-month moratorium on considering applications from dispensaries while they ponder land-use regulations about where such businesses would be permitted to operation. Other jurisdictions in the state have adopted similar moratoriums. That, of course, has angered many voters who see state and local officials as attempting to thwart their approval.
Spencer said that eventually, the number of dispensaries could total nearly 2,000—far more than the number of McDonald’s and Starbucks restaurants, as well as 7-Eleven convenience stores in the state, combined. She said the wording of the amendment was “very crafty.”
She also claimed that because there are a number of medical conditions for which doctors could prescribe cannabis—including cancer, epilepsy, and glaucoma—the wording on the amendment was open-ended, meaning doctors are open to prescribing it for just about any similar condition.
“Any 18-year-old can complain about test anxiety, an athletic injury or a migraine and receive a medical marijuana recommendation without their parent’s consent,” Spencer said.
Still, despite these concerns, the people have spoken. State and local governments are now obligated to move ahead with the implementation of the amendment.
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]]>Around the world there is a growing push for the legalization of medical and recreational cannabis, especially as the therapeutic value of the plant becomes more widely documented and acknowledged by the medical and scientific community.
Currently, Uruguay is the only nation that has completely legalized cannabis for recreational and medical use, but several other countries have decriminalized marijuana use, and in some, medical and/or recreational marijuana is either already legal or legalization is under consideration.
More than 20 countries are now introducing legislation allowing either medical or recreational cannabis use; in 2017, Canada plans to legalize and regulate both.
From CNN:
“Ireland, Australia, Jamaica and Germany approved measures this year for its medicinal use, while Australia also granted permission for businesses to apply for licenses to manufacture or cultivate marijuana products for medicinal purposes and to conduct related research. Decisions are still pending in South Africa.”
Testing the waters
Because legalization is such a new issue – there are few road maps in terms of regulation, taxation and public safety, for example – other nations are looking to the United States and other countries where the herb is already legal or decriminalized as examples, and are carefully monitoring how things are working out there.
So far, the experiments have been working. In the United States, legalization has largely proven to be a success. States like Colorado, for example, have seen dramatic tax revenue increases and a decrease in drug-related crime. And there have been surprising and unexpected benefits as well, such as the fact that traffic fatalities in many states have dropped significantly since legalization went into effect.
As in the United States, where marijuana laws differ from state to state, marijuana policies abroad also differ from country to country, but with the same general results. In other words, countries that have either decriminalized or legalized cannabis have seen positive results.
An interesting example is Portugal, which in 2001 decriminalized all drugs for personal use. Since then, that country has seen crime and hard drug addiction rates drop dramatically, proving that decriminalization works – and not just for marijuana use.
In the Netherlands, where weed has been more or less legal for 40 years, the percentage of the population who use marijuana is far lower than that of the United States. Incidentally, the rate of incarceration in the Netherlands is one-tenth that of the United States.
The truth shall prevail
Decades of drug war propaganda brainwashing is slowly beginning to wear off, particularly as new scientific evidence pours in documenting the nearly-miraculous properties of cannabis in treating a wide range of conditions.
Videos showing Parkinson’s sufferers and children with epilepsy obtaining instant relief from their symptoms after taking a few drops of cannabis oil are going viral, and after watching such videos it’s difficult to imagine anyone being opposed to the use of cannabis as medicine.
And so, as the blinders come off and the truth about cannabis becomes more widely disseminated, governments and citizens throughout the world are beginning to embrace the fact that marijuana is not a dangerous substance that should be outlawed. In fact, its use is beneficial and should be made completely legal, without any accompanying social stigma or criminal penalties.
At this point, the only people who oppose legalization are the ones who have either been duped by decades worth of “war on drugs” rhetoric, or those who continue to profit from cannabis prohibition, i.e. law enforcement agencies, drug cartels and industries like Big Pharma and for-profit prisons.
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]]>A study conducted by Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health in New York City found that, on the average, traffic fatalities have dropped in states that have legalized medical marijuana.
The researchers analyzed traffic fatality data obtained from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration covering the period between 1984 and 2014. The team discovered that in states where marijuana has been legalized, traffic deaths declined an average of 11 percent overall after the laws were passed – states with legal marijuana had an average of 26 percent less traffic fatalities overall compared to other states.
The study also showed a correlation between marijuana dispensaries and lowered traffic fatalities.
Currently, 28 states and the District of Columbia have legalized medical marijuana.
Researchers surprised and baffled by study results
The researchers expressed surprise at the results and could not fully explain why such reductions have occurred, but the findings echo another 2013 study that reported an 8 to 11 percent drop in auto deaths in medical cannabis states after the first year of legalization.
One theory is that marijuana has replaced alcohol to an extent in states where it has become legal.
From the Daily Caller:
“The authors suggest that stoners might be more attune to their lack of sobriety than someone who has been drinking heavily, or that medical marijuana patients are spending less time out at bars, but note no definitive connections can be made.”
In other words, it’s better to stop at a green light because you’re too high than to barrel through an intersection at 70 mph because you’re too drunk.
Interestingly, the biggest drop in traffic deaths was seen among younger drivers, particularly those between the ages of 25 and 44, a group that includes a high percentage of registered medical marijuana patients:
“Specifically, the researchers observed an 11 percent reduction of among those aged 15 to 24 years, 12 percent for ages 25 to 44, and 9 percent for those 45 years and older.
“Lacking was strong evidence suggesting reductions among those aged 45 years and older, which is also a group overrepresented in the population of patients registered in state medical marijuana programs.”
For reasons that are unclear, the drop in fatalities only seems pronounced among younger drivers. “This finding suggests that the mechanisms by which medical marijuana laws reduce traffic fatalities mostly operate in those younger adults, a group also frequently involved in alcohol-related traffic fatalities,” said Julian Santaella-Tenorio, lead author of the study.
Although the factors driving the trend may yet remain unclear, the findings are nonetheless significant and contradict predictions that legalization would bring with it an increase in traffic accidents.
Access to marijuana “improves public safety,” says researcher
The truth appears to be the opposite. “Public safety doesn’t decrease with increased access to marijuana, rather it improves,” said Benjamin Hansen, one of the authors of the 2013 study.
These findings may upset anti-marijuana crusaders, but with two broad studies reflecting nearly the same dramatic findings, there’s little room for argument.
It should be noted that decreases were not found in every state – both California and New Mexico showed initial decreases after legalization, but slowly traffic death rates began to rise again.
And no one should be encouraged to drive while stoned – marijuana does impair driving ability to an extent, even if it translates to merely driving too carefully.
At any rate, such research is important in understanding how marijuana use affects public safety and will help in developing appropriate policies and guidelines. Studies like these also help to dispel some of the fear-mongering and misunderstanding regarding cannabis and its impact on society.
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]]>Article by Grace Schneider
It’s a new line of work for the center, located inside the Speed School’s Ernst Hall, but it matches well with its existing examination of biofuels, catalysts and other chemical applications, said Henry “Hank” Conn, who with his wife has committed millions of dollars to fund the center and recently provided $160,000 to kick start hemp research.
Additional underwriting will come from an endowment established more than 30 years ago by the late Ray Schnur Sr., a member of the first Speed graduating class in 1928 who operated two companies in Louisville. He made an initial endowment gift of $100,000 — now more than $350,000 — to fund technology purchases for Speed’s electrical engineering department.
But Schnur’s son Ray Jr. and his family asked that the annual proceeds be directed now to Conn’s hemp effort, a move that will take effect July 1 with start of the next fiscal year.
“Hemp is the coming thing,” said the younger Schnur, who is 81 and the stepfather of David Barhorst, a Louisville developer and founder of Kentucky Hemp Ventures. Creating jobs from hemp will “help coal miners and tobacco farmers around the state,” Schnur said.
The Kentucky Department of Agriculture launched a pilot program under authority of the 2014 federal farm bill, which allows states that enact laws to permit hemp growing and research. It’s given rise to several businesses that are working with selected farmers approved by the state to create foods and products from hemp fibers and oils. University of Kentucky agronomists have focused on aspects of growing and processing the crop.
At Conn, researchers are looking at the potential after the harvest — for pelletizing hemp for biofuel, creating catalysts for various chemical applications and using cellulose as a fuel source, said Andrew Marsh, the center’s assistant director.
“This whole thing just took off,” Marsh said, after the center planted a test plot of hemp in August. Some Speed students did a literature search of hemp research, and Schnur stepped up, offering to redirect the endowment at Conn.
To steer their work, center officials convened a forum in early December with more than three dozen growers, processors and business people. Those who gathered in a conference center encouraged Conn researchers to conduct a detailed economic analysis — looking at large-scale growing and products that can deliver the best bang for the buck.
The hemp program in Kentucky is in its infancy, having just 2,350 acres grown last year and 922 acres in 2015, according to the KDA.
Hank Conn said that the companies in chemical production and fertilizers have expressed interest in creating partnerships, depending on the results of the research. That’s exciting, but the key is making sure there’s solid science underpinning the economic modeling, Conn, who lives in suburban Atlanta, said last week. “The problem is we don’t know what we don’t know.”
Reporter Grace Schneider can be reached at 502-582-4082 or [email protected].
Read more at: courier-journal.com
]]>It was so astonishing to the audience — truly jaw-dropping — that people couldn’t stop talking to me about it for days. They wanted to hear more about this extraordinary harmonic code found in the Table of Elements and the laws of physics and chemistry.
In the video below, I demonstrate what I now call “Elemonics” — the science of translating chemistry and molecules into audible music by sequencing elements using the inverse of their atomic mass units (i.e. frequencies) as documented in the Table of Elements. (The video explains it in more detail.)
In essence, I have discovered a way to map the elements to a standard 88-key keyboard using their documented atomic masses. Hydrogen is mapped to 3,520 Hz (high A7 key on the keyboard) as the only arbitrary choice in this mapping, and the rest of the elements are mapped in relation to Hydrogen. Since Carbon has a mass of 12, for example, it gets mapped to 3,520 / 12 which equals 293.3 Hz. That corresponds to the D4 key on an 88-key keyboard.
Using this translation, I was then able to play molecules as musical sequences, allowing the world to HEAR nutritional chemistry for the first time.
Now you can HEAR vitamin C, carbon dioxide, water and progesterone
In this video demonstration, I play the musical sequences for many different molecules of life, including water, oxygen (O2), carbon dioxide, magnesium oxide, calcium carbonate and even progesterone.
Using the same mathematical translation of physical elements into musical tones, I was also able to sequence organophosphate pesticides and toxic herbicides such as glyphosate. In the video below, you can now “hear” toxic pesticides, fluoride and even toxic heavy metals like mercury, lead and cadmium.
What you’ll notice in experiencing all this is that highly toxic elements like Fluorine, commonly used in psychiatric drugs and toxic pesticides, sound disturbing and destructive. This is not mere coincidence.
Click here to watch the Elemonics video demonstration now on YouTube, or watch the video below. You can also download my Elemonics musical sequences as MP3 files at:
Read more about how I discovered this hidden pattern in the Table of Elements below…
How I discovered Elemonics
This incredible revelation came to me during a walk in nature as I was pondering a particular ionization problem with a Time-Of-Flight mass spec instrument at my forensic food laboratory (CWClabs.com).
I was having difficulty ionizing a certain target analyte using the ESI (electrospray ionization) in negative ionization mode, and I was playing around with a thought experiment that explored whether a solution might be found in identifying the harmonic resonance of the molecule in question, then shattering the ionic bonds with ionization voltage broadcast at a resonant frequency.
See, normally in mass spec systems, the fragmentation voltage is set at a fixed frequency. But what if we had control over that frequency as a parameter in our mass spec analysis? Certain frequencies of voltage could turn out to be far more effective at molecular fragmentation.
This, in theory, could achieve more efficient molecular fragmentation, exposing each fragment to easy ionization and subsequent detection via mass-to-charge ratio discrimination. In this case, I’m proposing a post-ionization fragmentation and secondary ionization, which I don’t think is available in current mass spec systems. If this could be achieved, the mass spec software can easily analyze molecular fragmentation to identify the original molecule, using what are essentially “fragmentation fingerprints” to piece together the original pre-fragmented molecule. In effect, I would end up with a bunch of smaller M+H fragments, each with much higher IP (ionization potential) which translates into far greater detection sensitivity for the analyte in question.
In any case, that was just a thought experiment… but it paid off in a strange way. Brainstorming the problem caused me to realize I could translate chemistry into audible music!
So the next day, I started doing the math, using the Period Table of Elements as my guide. If you try to double check my math, by the way, make sure you understand that standard tables only give average masses based on the naturally occurring ratios of multi-isotopic elements. These “average mass” numbers are misleading. To arrive at the correct answers in terms of harmonics, you have to take this to the next level of understanding and identify the whole number atomic masses of each isotopic in a multi-isotopic spread. Lead, for example, isn’t really 207.2. There’s actually lead at 206, more lead at 207, yet more lead at 208, etc. They average to 207.2 based on the naturally occurring isotopic spread observed on Earth, but there isn’t any lead atom that’s actually 207.2 atomic mass units. (I may explain more on this in a follow up article.)
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Despite the strong opposition from top politicians, the Catholic Church, doctors, business groups, and other civic leaders, Massachusetts is one of three states where ballot measures legalizing recreational use of marijuana passed on November 8, 2016, along with California and Nevada. The Governor’s Council certified those results on Wednesday, December 14, bringing the law into effect on Thursday. Voters in Arizona rejected the law, and a Maine ballot is still going through a recount.
A legal gray zone
Even though marijuana remains illegal under federal law, in Massachusetts, anyone who is 21 or older can now legally possess up to one ounce of pot in public and up to 10 ounces inside their home. Additionally, it’s also legal for Massachusetts residents to grow up to six plants per person, with a limit of 12 plants per household.
It will be at least another year before cannabis can be legally sold in the state, giving state officials time to figure out how to implement the new law. They have been given until January 2018 to regulate the marketplace and set up licensed retail stores. This, however, creates a temporary legal gray zone where buying up to an ounce of marijuana from a dealer is legal while the dealer is breaking the state law.
Supporters of the new law are very wary that Massachusetts officials might try to change the law or delay its full implementation over the coming months, ABC News reported.
“I am both celebrating and worrying that the law might not be implemented properly,” said Bill Downing, member liaison for the Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition who has spent nearly three decades crusading for relaxed marijuana rules.
His concern stems from public statements made by Democratic legislative leaders and Republican Gov. Charlie Baker, who were opposed to the law but had no choice other than to honor the will of the people. The Massachusetts marijuana legalization ballot passed last month with about 1.8 million people voting for and 1.5 million people voting against the measure, reported the Boston Globe.
Top leaders and politicians already stated that the law does not sufficiently protect public health and safety, trying to delay the opening of stores beyond the planned January 2018 date.
Massachusetts’ influence on neighboring states
Some people suggested that the legalization in Massachusetts could motivate neighboring states to consider similar steps. Given the close distances between cities in the West, it will be easy for people to cross state lines to acquire the drug.
Taylor West, deputy director of the Washington-based National Cannabis Industry Association, told the Huffington Post in a phone interview that it certainly makes sense for neighboring states to look at the policy and consider the benefits the state can get from putting this behind a regulated counter. Rhode Island’s governor, Democrat Gina Raimondo, already communicated that she is willing to consider the idea.
According to a poll by Gallup, 60 percent of Americans support the legalization of marijuana for recreational use. Nonetheless, the future remains uncertain. While Trump has said that marijuana legalization was best left to the states during his campaign, his pick for attorney general is U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama, who criticized Barack Obama’s administration for not enforcing the federal ban on marijuana aggressively enough.
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ACTION ITEM: Sign our petition that asks the incoming Trump administration to legalize CBD supplements nationwide.
Via the Federal Register, Vol. 81, No. 240, published Wednesday, December 14, 2016, “Rules and Regulations”:
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Drug Enforcement Administration
21 CFR Part 1308
[Docket No. DEA–342]
RIN 1117–AB33
Establishment of a New Drug Code for Marihuana Extract
AGENCY: Drug Enforcement Administration, Department of Justice.
ACTION: Final rule.
PART 1308 — SCHEDULES OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES
- The authority citation for part 1308 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 21 U.S.C. 811, 812, 871(b), unless otherwise noted.
- Section 1308.11 is amended by adding paragraph (d)(58) to read as
follows: § 1308.11 Schedule I.
(d)
(58) Marihuana Extract—(7350)
Meaning an extract containing one or more cannabinoids that has been derived from any plant of the genus Cannabis, other than the separated resin (whether crude or purified) obtained from the plant.
In effect, the DEA has, completely outside any act of Congress, created an entirely new “Schedule I” controlled substance it calls “Marihuana Extract” (note the spelling with an “h” rather than a “j”). This “Marihuana Extract” is, according to the DEA, any extract containing “one or more cannabinoids…”
CBD is, of course, a non-psychoactive cannabinoid. It’s just one of over a hundred cannabinoids found in hemp extracts, which also include CBD-A, CBG, CBC, CBN and so on.
Sign our petition at this link to ask the Trump administration to protect access to CBD products and keep the DEA’s hands off natural medicine from Cannabis.
The sky is not falling! Hemp Industry Association responds…
From the Hemp Industry Association, here’s a thoughtful response on all this, which insists the DEA’s new classification is not a show-stopper:
Yesterday the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) issued a Final Rule on the coding of marijuana extracts. Unfortunately some misleading media stories and social media postings lead quite a few people to panic at reports that CBD was being banned under this new rule.
The Sky is NOT Falling. The Final Rule published by DEA did not change the legal status of CBD. This can only be done by a scheduling action which has NOT occurred.
HIA has carefully reviewed this with our legal advisors and discussed it with industry experts. While there are some differing opinions on the effect of the rule, there is general agreement that yesterday’s ruling did not change the status of CBD. Here are some important facts to know:
- Cannabidiol is not listed on the federal schedule of controlled substances
- Sec. 7606 of the Farm Bill defines hemp as distinct from marijuana and does not treat it as a controlled substance when grown under a compliant state program
- Despite these facts, DEA has stated that CBD is a controlled substance previously
- HIA strongly disagrees with the DEA position and is ready to take action to defend should DEA take any action to block the production, processing or sale of hemp under Sec. 7606
- The Final Rule published on December 14th was not a scheduling action but rather an administrative action related to record keeping
- The code assigned to “marihuana extract” in the rule is “Administration Controlled Substances Code Number” for the purposes of identification of substances on registration forms
- The rule was originally published as a proposed rule in 2011 BEFORE the Farm Bill and didn’t mention CBD or hemp
- DEA confirmed to a reporter from the Denver Post that this was an administrative action and did not change the status of CBD in federal law
So what does this all mean? We believe the DEA rule on “marihuana extracts” was not directed at hemp derived CBD products and has been in the works for 5 years. We also believe there is no imminent change in DEA policy regarding hemp derived CBD products.
For now, we want to urge everyone to calm down and continue with your businesses. We also hope that in future, reporters will take the time to get the facts before posting misleading stories about hemp and CBD.
DEA is obedient to United Nations globalists
This was all done, says the DEA, to comply with “Under international drug control treaties administered by the United Nations.” According to the registry entry, the DEA needed to create a new Schedule I classification for CBD in order to “better account for these materials in accordance with treaty obligations.”
In other words, the DEA is claiming they are beholden to globalist treaties as the reason they need to criminalize CBD as a Schedule I Controlled Substance. The move is described as an effort to “bring the US into compliance with international drug-control treaties,” reports Leafly.com. Such action is an admission that the federal government is really just an obedient lapdog of the United Nations.
That same article confirms that the DEA considers CBD to be a Schedule I substance that’s illegal to possess:
In the DEA comment on the entry, Rosenberg directly addressed the question: What if it’s only cannabidiol (CBD) and no other cannabinoids? The agency’s response: “For practical purposes, all extracts that contain CBD will also contain at least small amounts of other cannabinoids. However, if it were possible to produce from the cannabis plant an extract that contained only CBD and no other cannabinoids, such an extract would fall within the new drug code” and therefore remain federally illegal. In other words: The DEA is confident that it can find enough traces of other cannabinoids in your CBD oil to arrest and prosecute. And if they can’t, they still have the option of arresting and prosecuting based on the CBD oil itself.
By this same definition, grocery store-bought hemp seeds would also be illegal to possess, by the way, because even hemp seeds contain trace amounts of CBD.
Big Pharma behind the scenes
The DEA’s new ruling openly admits it was strongly influenced by Big Pharma, which asked the DEA to classify all cannabinoids as Schedule I drugs, not just CBD or any other isolated compound. From the Federal Register:
Another comment from a pharmaceutical firm currently involved in cannabinoid research and product development praised DEA’s efforts to establish a new drug code for marihuana extracts as a means to more accurately reflect the activities of scientific research and provide more consistent adherence to the requirements of the Single Convention. However, the comment expressed concerns that the proposed definition for the new drug code (i.e. ‘‘meaning extracts that have been derived from any plant of the genus Cannabis and which contain cannabinols and cannabidiols’’) is too narrow. The comment suggested that the broader term ‘‘cannabinoids’’ be substituted for ‘‘cannabinols and cannabidiols.’’ The comment pointed out that other constituents of the marihuana plant may have therapeutic potential. The comment further clarified that the broader term ‘‘cannabinoid’’ includes both cannabinol-type compounds and annabidiol-type compounds, as well as cannabichromene-type compounds, cannabigerol-type compounds, and other categories of compounds.
Rohrabacher-Farr amendment currently protects CBD consumers in 28 states… but it could vanish in April, 2017
Even under the DEA’s new Schedule I dictate, consumers of CBD products will enjoy state-level protections in at least 28 states thanks to the Rohrabacher-Farr amendment, passed in 2014. That law essentially prohibits federal DEA agents from going after CBD consumers in states where medical marijuana is already legal.
That amendment, however, must be renewed every year. It was just renewed a week ago, on December 9, 2016, “as part of the continuing House resolution known as HR 2028, which funds the federal government through April 28, 2017,” reports Leafly. “When that resolution expires next April, so does the protections afforded by Rohrabacher-Farr. Unless it’s renewed once again.”
What this means is that CBD protections for consumers in 28 states will likely expire in April of 2017. Consumers in the other, non-medical-marijuana states have less than 30 days to acquire CBD products before interstate sales are shut down nationwide.
The industry plans to fight the absurd DEA classification with lawsuits and petitions
The CBD industry, naturally, is planning on waging a fierce battle to keep CBD products legal in all 50 states. Via Leafly:
Robert Hoban, a Colorado cannabis attorney and adjunct professor of law at the University of Denver, raised the notion that the rule itself may not be lawful. “This action is beyond the DEA’s authority,” Hoban told Leafly in an interview late this afternoon. “The DEA can only carry out the law, they cannot create it. Here they’re purporting to create an entirely new category called ‘marijuana extracts,’ and by doing so wrest control over all cannabinoids. They want to call all cannabinoids illegal. But they don’t have the authority to do that.”
The CBD industry, in fact, has been looking for an opportunity to challenge the DEA in court, and it looks like that time has arrived.
SIGN OUR PETITION at this link, asking the Trump administration to protect consumers’ access to CBD products.
Consumers in many states may have just 30 days to acquire CBD products before sales are halted by many companies
One large CBD extract producer told Natural News, “We’ve been advised by our attorney to halt CBD sales outside our home state in 30 days.” That company plans to announce to its customers that they have 30 days to purchase their products, after which they plan to pull all sales except for inside their home state.
Other CBD producers are poised to fight the DEA regulation with federal lawsuits. With the DEA’s enforcement of its cannabis regulations up in the air — and with lawsuits from private industry on the horizon — 2017 looks to be a year of unexpected twists and turns for hemp extract producers and consumers.
Natural News will continue to cover the news on all this, including publishing on HempScience.news
My personal analysis, by the way, is that the DEA’s ruling will not stand for long. It will be either narrowed through clarification or rescinded. But you never know for sure, especially when the DEA wants to wage a large power grab just in time for the new incoming administration which may be rather hostile to medical marijuana.
]]>Applying advanced agricultural technology to provide medical-grade cannabis for research (and eventually for export, if expected changes in the current laws are made), several Israeli startups are already reporting a brisk trade – particularly from clients in countries like the United States, where marijuana research is either illegal or strictly controlled.
Licensed growers and research facilities in Israel are expecting even more business from the U.S. after the November elections, which increased to 29 the number of states permitting the use of medical marijuana.
Since marijuana is still classified as a Schedule I drug at the federal level in the U.S., research continues to be strictly regulated, but as more states pass medical marijuana measures, Israel is hoping that more American companies turn to their facilities for the research work that needs to be done.
The cannabis industry is receiving strong support from the Israeli government.
From Bloomberg:
“The Israeli government has identified medical cannabis as an economic opportunity. Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel says his ministry will research ways to best grow cannabis, and would back export of locally grown medical marijuana, currently banned under national law. The Health Ministry, which has its own medical cannabis department, is extending the number of licenses granted to growers, doctors and patients to expand the local market and also plans to support industry requests for exports.”
Cannabis industry likely to bring significant economic boom to Israel
If cannabis exports are legalized, Israel’s economy could benefit enormously. The worldwide legal marijuana market is expected to reach $140.5 billion by 2020, and some are predicting that the marijuana industry in Israel could grow to rival that of the tech industry, which now accounts for around 40 percent of the country’s industrial exports and roughly one-third of its GDP.
Aside from the favorable legal climate, Israel is in many respects uniquely suited to becoming a global cannabis hub; the country’s agricultural technologies are highly advanced, and its medical research facilities are respected worldwide.
Israel has traditionally embraced a “making the desert bloom” philosophy – according to one cannabis company CEO – and marijuana has always played a role in the country’s history. The collective Israeli mindset regarding cannabis appears to be far less puritanical than that of the United States.
An Israeli scientist, Raphael Mechoulam, was the first to isolate THC, the psychoactive component of the marijuana plant.
Marijuana use considered ‘kosher’ even by conservative Israeli Orthodox Jewish community
And although there are Israelis who still oppose legalization, the medicinal use of cannabis is reportedly considered “kosher” by even the Orthodox Jewish community in Israel. Indeed, the country’s ultra-Orthodox health minister has called for increased marijuana cultivation in an effort towards eliminating long waiting periods for patients to obtain their medical cannabis.
In response, Israeli startups are investing heavily in expanding their operations. One such firm, Breath of Life Pharma, has plans to increase its greenhouse facilities and production tenfold over the next year:
“The privately held 10-year-old company says it has tens of millions of dollars in annual revenue, mostly from supplying pure active ingredients to American and European companies already coming to Israel to do clinical trials.“
Breath of Life’s “computer-controlled, camera-patrolled, password-secured” greenhouses are state-of-the-art cannabis cultivation areas designed to meet the national and international demand for high quality medicinal marijuana.
The company, like many others in Israel, is looking forward to a prosperous future in the legal cannabis market. As more countries throughout the world recognize the benefits of cannabis as therapy, there’s no doubt the industry will continue to expand for some years to come – in Israel and elsewhere.
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]]>Smith, who served 26 years in law enforcement before retiring in 1999, has been battling Parkinson’s for 20 years. His story is the subject of an upcoming documentary, Ride With Larry, which chronicles his fight against the disease.
Larry has been successful in controlling some of his symptoms through exercise, with particular emphasis on the use of a recumbent bicycle. In fact, the documentary follows Larry as he embarks on a 300-mile bike journey across South Dakota.
Larry Smith tries medicinal marijuana to combat worsening Parkinson’s symptoms
As Larry Smith’s disease progressed, he explored every treatment available to ease the symptoms. Recently, he turned to medical marijuana and found it to be amazingly effective in alleviating his dyskinesia (uncontrollable movements) and other symptoms.
On the Ride With Larry Facebook page, a three-part video series follows Larry and his wife, Elizabeth, as they travel to San Diego to try medical marijuana for the first time – medical marijuana is not legal in their home state, South Dakota.
In Part One of the series, Larry and Elizabeth arrive in San Diego and visit a doctor who gives him a prescription for medical marijuana. At this point, Larry’s symptoms are pronounced – he has trouble walking and is in pain, despite the 20 pills he takes each day.
In Part Two, the pair visit a marijuana dispensary and obtain $40 worth of cannabis buds. Elizabeth mentions the fact that one of Larry’s prescriptions costs $3,000 each time to fill.
In Part Three, a fellow Parkinson’s sufferer visits Larry and gives him some cannabis oil. At this point, Larry’s symptoms are pronounced, he has difficulty speaking and is in obvious pain as he tries to control his movements.
An astounding transformation using one drop of cannabis oil
Within just a few minutes of placing one drop of cannabis oil under his tongue, Larry’s body completely relaxes – his tremors are gone, he can speak normally and his hands are steady.
It’s an astounding transformation. The video has now been viewed by nearly 40 million people, a testament to the dramatic nature of its content, and to the fact that many people are interested in the benefits of cannabis for treating Parkinson’s and other debilitating and difficult-to-treat conditions.
Yet medicinal marijuana remains illegal in many states, and is still prohibited by federal law.
“A person like me could really use marijuana,” said Larry in Part Three of the series. “And it makes me pretty angry that I can’t get it in my home state.”
Part Three also includes an interview with Dr. Daniele Piomelli, pharmacology professor at UC Irvine medical school, who said:
“The number one frustration that I have is knowing that there is this untapped potential — that comes from what marijuana is teaching us — to generate new medicines, and being stuck because of financial issues or political issues. That is extremely frustrating.”
Dr. Piomelli refers to animal experiments that have shown how marijuana alleviates Parkinson’s symptoms, and to anecdotal evidence such as Larry Smith’s experience, but acknowledges that there is little incentive to carry out further research, since there is no money to be made by Big Pharma on a plant that is so cheap and easy to grow.
“Pharmaceutical companies have no interest in marijuana because they cannot sell it,” said Dr. Piomelli.
It will be interesting to see how the new administration approaches the issue. If President Trump truly wants to serve the interests of the American people, he must see to it that medical marijuana is made available to every single person who can benefit from its use.
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