Alaskan capital says yes to on-site marijuana edible consumption, outdoor cannabis smoking areas

A city ordinance passed by the Juneau Assembly will allow customers to consume cannabis edibles inside licensed dispensaries as well as smoke in designated outdoor areas. The ordinance was approved 6-2, and an amendment that would have allowed only vaping in outdoor smoking areas failed.

Local cannabis business owner John Nemeth approved of the Assembly’s decision.

“This is a great step in the right direction,” Nemeth said. “It’s something we never thought we’d see here in Juneau and it’s giving people a safe place to consume.”

Medical marijuana could hit shelves in Louisiana next week

It’s been four years since Louisiana lawmakers legalized medical marijuana, and next week patients could finally have access to therapeutic cannabis.

“If there are no problems, no contamination, and we don’t expect any, then hopefully by the end of the week or early next week, there will be products moving to the market. That’s kind of the timetable,” said Louisiana Agriculture Commissioner Mike Strain.

Only cannabis grown at Louisiana State University and Southern University is authorized for use in the state’s medical-marijuana program, and nine pharmacies will dispense cannabis in liquid form. Patients can use liquid cannabis applied as drops under the tongue, or into an inhaler. Louisiana also plans to allow patients access to cannabis oils, pills, and topical applications.

Oklahoma dispensary owners sue Facebook

Seven medical marijuana dispensaries have filed a suit against Facebook for putting them in “Facebook jail” for posting about their businesses. The owners say that Facebook has “a pattern of targeting the Oklahoma medical marijuana industry” and that the social media giant is censoring their business pages.

“Facebook jail” is when a page or profile is temporarily disabled for allegedly violating standards.

The petition claims that “Facebook has an arbitrary, subjective, discriminatory and archaic policy and their policy does not apply to all. It is just random. Or at least it appears to be random. There is no way for an individual or a business to contact anyone within Facebook to get assistance. They hide behind their keyboards and mete out whatever punishment they feel if they find that you have committed an infraction to their subjective community standards.”

The marijuana business owners are seeking a court order preventing Facebook from censoring their bushiness pages, as well as more than $75,000 for the “economic harm” caused by the censorship.

 

Governor Jared Polis, a vocal cannabis advocate who campaigned on supporting the marijuana industry, has made big changes to cannabis regulations in Colorado since he was sworn in back in January.

In May, Polis signed several cannabis bills into law: autism spectrum disorder was added to the state’s list of qualifying MMJ conditions, cannabis delivery to private residences was given the green light, and tokers will finally have a place for social consumption in hospitality establishments.

Polis also signed a bill that will allow doctors to prescribe cannabis instead of opioids for acute medical conditions, as well as allowing more medical professionals to prescribe medical marijuana. So, for instance, if you have your wisdom teeth removed, your dentists could recommend medical cannabis instead of addictive opioid pain medication.

Adding a condition for which a physician could recommend medical marijuana instead of an opioid is a safer pain management tool that will be useful for both our doctors and patients,” said Ashley Weber, executive director of Colorado NORML.

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) has been resistant to adding new medical conditions to the MMJ program, but the new law circumvents the CDPHE board. The board met on July 17 for an emergency rulemaking session ahead of the law’s implementation. One of the rules up for debate was whether short-term medical marijuana cards should be valid for 30 or 60 days.

According to Westword, at least one board member thought sixty days for a short-term MMJ card was too long, especially in cases where an opioid would only be prescribed for seven days. Anna Weaver-Hayes, who testified at the meeting on behalf of the Colorado Psychiatric Society and Children’s Hospital Colorado, also recommended a shorter prescription window of thirty days.

Cannabis Clinicians Colorado director Martha Montemayor argued for a sixty-day short-term MMJ prescription, explaining that patients on the Western Slope often have to apply for their cards by mail and that “By the time they get their approval back in the mail, more than half of their recommendation could be done already,” she said. “We can’t forget those people.”

The board unanimously voted to approve a sixty-day minimum for short-term MMJ cards. Final rules will be decided by the board in September.

 

Cannabis use among teens has declined in states with legal recreational marijuana, according to a new paper published in the medical journal JAMA Pediatrics. Researchers found that in states with legal adult-use cannabis, there was an 8% drop in the number of youths who said they used marijuana within the last 30 days and a 9% drop in the number of high-schoolers who said that they had used at least 10 times in the past 30 days.

The research was led by D. Mark Anderson, an economist at Montana State University, along with colleagues from the University of Colorado, the University of Oregon, and San Diego University. Researchers analyzed data that spanned 25 years, from 1993 to 2017, that included data from about 1.4 million high school students. The data was collected by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s annual Youth Risk Behavior Surveys, which are administered to students every two years.

Researchers did not find a significant decrease in teen marijuana use in states with legal medical cannabis.

“Consistent with the results of previous researchers, there was no evidence that the legalization of medical marijuana encourages marijuana use among youth. Moreover, the estimates reported [by the Youth Risk Behavior Surveys] showed that marijuana use among youth may actually decline after legalization for recreational purposes.”

The researchers acknowledged that while there’s an association between legal adult-use marijuana, there isn’t a causal connection.

“Because many recreational marijuana laws have been passed so recently, we do observe limited post-treatment data for some of these states,” Anderson said. “In a few years, it would make sense to update our estimates as more data become available.”

One possible reason for the decline in teen pot use is that a regulation cannabis market reduces the availability of black market marijuana. In states where recreational marijuana is legal, “it is more difficult for teenagers to obtain marijuana as drug dealers are replaced by licensed dispensaries that require proof of age.”

Nationally, teen cannabis use has increased from 0.6% in 1991 to 6.3% in 2017, according to a study published in the American Journal of Public Health.

Since recreational marijuana sales began in Colorado in 2014, the state has collected $1.02 billion in tax revenue, according to the latest numbers released by the Colorado Department of Revenue. Adult-use cannabis sales in the last five years have exceeded $6.56 billion. Legal cannabis has created jobs for 41,076 people who work in the industry, and there are currently 2,917 licensed marijuana businesses in the state.

“Today’s report continues to show that Colorado’s cannabis industry is thriving, but we can’t rest on our laurels. We can and we must do better in the face of increased national competition. We want Colorado to be the best state for investment, innovation and development for this growing economic sector,” said Governor Jared Polis (D) in a press release. “This industry is helping grow our economy by creating jobs and generating valuable revenue that is going towards preventing youth consumption, protecting public health and safety and investing in public school construction.”

Colorado and Washington state were the first states to legalize adult-use marijuana in 2012 (with the first recreational dispensaries opening in 2014), but since then 11 other states have fully legalized cannabis as well. That means increased competition from states with larger populations and fewer regulations. Cannabis sales in Colorado have begun to level out, in part due to a decline in medical marijuana sales. In 2018, recreational marijuana sales were up 11%, but medical cannabis sales were down 20%.

Governor Polis told CNBC being the first state to sell recreational cannabis has been an advantage for Colorado, something that he hopes to leverage in the coming years.

“We are always going to be relatively small potatoes on the actual sales. … We are just not going to be as big as states like California or New Jersey. … We want to make sure that 10 years from now, point-of-sales systems, chemistry, genetics — all those pieces — are housed here in Colorado with successful companies that power a multibillion national industry.”

 

Cannabis consumption in hospitality establishments

Five long years after the state’s first recreational dispensaries opened, Colorado tokers will finally have a place to consume cannabis publicly. Governor Jared Polis (D) signed HB 1230 into law on Wednesday, legalizing licensed marijuana hospitality spaces in which cannabis can be consumed on site.

Before signing the social consumption bill into law, Polis said, “Colorado has many tourists and residents who choose to participate [in legal cannabis use]. Up until this bill, there’s been no way to have safe public consumption. I’ve smelled it walking my dog. For many of us with kids, we want to make sure we don’t have that in our neighborhoods.”

The new rules open the door for a variety of businesses to cash in on cannabis consumption, including hotels, spas, art galleries, cafes, lounges, and more. After purchasing medical or recreational cannabis at a dispensary, tourists and residents will be able to try out their purchases at on-site marijuana tasting rooms. The law will make an exception to the Colorado Clean Air Act, which prohibits indoor smoking.

The law won’t go into effect until 2020, and cities and counties have the option of banning social-use establishments. Local governments will have the option of adjusting the regulations to allow vaping, for example, but not smoking.

House Bill 1230 passed in the state legislature on May 2 and was signed into law on May 29. Last year, then-Governor John Hickenlooper (D) vetoed similar legislation.

 

Don’t leave home, get your marijuana delivered

Polis had a busy day of signing marijuana legislation into law Wednesday, including HB 1234, which allows licensed marijuana dispensaries to deliver cannabis to private residences.

Medical marijuana deliveries would be allowed to begin starting Jan. 2, 2020, and recreational cannabis deliveries would be allowed to start on the same date in 2021. Deliveries cannot be made to college campuses, and private residences can only have cannabis delivered once per day. A $1 surcharge will be added to each delivery and go towards local law enforcement costs related to marijuana enforcement.

Licensed transporters will undergo marijuana delivery training and will be protected from criminal prosecution for making cannabis deliveries.

The sponsors of HB 1234 argued that the bill would help stamp out black-market cannabis delivery as well as help patients who can’t always leave home for medical marijuana.

“This is a bill of compassion [for medical marijuana patients],” said Polis.

 

Cannabis, not Opioids

A bill that would allow doctors to prescribe medical marijuana in place of opioids is one step closer to becoming law in Colorado. In its third hearing, Senate Bill 13 passed the House on Tuesday. The Senate passed the bill in February.

Many of the conditions covered by Colorado’s medical marijuana program are chronic, meaning that they can last months or years, but for acute conditions, physicians often prescribe opioids. SB 13 would give physicians an alternative to highly addictive opioids, allowing them to prescribe medical marijuana for acute pain and other temporary medical conditions.

Rep. Kim Ransom (R), one of the bill’s sponsors, said, “[The opioid epidemic] affects all ages, all income levels, all areas of the state. We were trying to give doctors an additional option.”

The bill is heading back to the Senate for approval of changes made by the House. After that, the bill heads to Governor Jared Polis to be signed into law.

Cannabis consumption in “hospitality” establishments

While a social-use bill failed to get enough votes in Denver City Council, there’s still hope that Colorado will soon have more places to toke. House Bill 1230 would allow legal cannabis hospitality spaces in which marijuana could be sold and consumed. This would allow the creation of a new kind of space – likely next to or within a dispensary (or legal licensed cannabis business) to have a specific space dedicated to public consumption. The bill would make an exception to the Colorado Clean Air Act, which prohibits indoor smoking.

“The intent, really, is to solve a problem that we’ve had since Amendment 64 passed,” Rep. Jonathan Singer (D) said during a hearing for the bill. “Don’t consume it in the dispensary, don’t consume it in a street or in a park, don’t consume it in a hotel or a restaurant — and, by the way, if you’re a tourist, make sure you dispose of it before you leave the state.

The state licensing authority would be responsible for hammering out the final rules for cannabis “hospitality” establishments.

The bill passed the House on April 18 and is now headed to the Senate.

Cannabis Delivery

Finally, another new bill is ready for Colorado Governor Jared Polis, who hasn’t 100% committed but likely will sign, that would allow licensed cannabis businesses to deliver to local residents. House Bill 1234 passed the Colorado Senate after being approved by the House on April 18.

The bill creates a new licensed to allow for dispensaries and transporters to make legal drops to residents directly to their homes. If signed legal deliveries would begin as soon as 2020 for medical patients and in 2021 for recreational buyers.

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We’re extremely proud to announce that our cannabis (3:1 THC and CBD) infused suckers and lozenges products will be available on medical dispensary shelves in Puerto Rico starting this week!

Depending on delivery, distribution times, and actual inventory stocking, these products will be available to Puerto Rico medical cannabis patients soon and are working along with the 1919 Clinic – a licensed 25,000 square foot cultivation and manufacturing facility located in San Juan.

Legalization in Puerto Rico

In May 2015, Puerto Rico Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla signed an executive order permitting the use of medical cannabis. “We’re taking a significant step in the area of health that is fundamental to our development and quality of life,” said Gov. Padilla. “I am sure that many patients will receive appropriate treatment that will offer them new hope.” Administrative Order Number 352, created regulations for the possession, cultivation, manufacturing, production, fabrication, dispensing, distributing, and ongoing research in medical cannabis to support the relief of pain, and disorders from MS to glaucoma and more. Patients are required to register for a medical license and all shops are required to register for official licenses with the state Dept. of Health.

About Mountain High Suckers

Mountain High Suckers has produced handmade suckers and lozenges since their beginning in 2009.

Not afraid to be bold, we infuse spiciness, mango and even coconut into suckers, too. We’re the pioneers of CBD in medical marijuana products in Colorado, providing edibles that offer a more balanced effect and a wide range of benefits.

Chad Tribble and John Garrison started the company back in 2009. Within months they began testing their strains and discovered their genetics provided a fair amount of CBD. Since then we’ve tested every batch of our hash oil to ensure proper potency and consistency within our products. We’ve continued at a steady pace, hand making our products the same way today as we did in the beginning.

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Cannabis Delivered to Your Door

There’s renewed hope for marijuana delivery in Colorado as a new bill that would legalize the service received approval from a state House committee. HB1234 would allow home delivery of medical marijuana starting in January 2020. Recreational marijuana delivery would be delayed until January 2021.

Rep. John Singer (D), one of the bill’s sponsors, said that the legislation is “an opportunity to stamp out a black market and provide a service for people who are sick.”

The bill includes a $1 delivery surcharge that will go to local law enforcement, and cities and counties must opt-in to the program. Delivery vehicles would be tracked by GPS and follow state-mandated safety rules. Medical marijuana dispensaries already in operation would have the first opportunity to apply for delivery permits. After a year, delivery permitting would open up to third-party transporters.

Matt Kahl, a veteran who uses medical cannabis, told lawmakers, “There are a lot of people out there who really need it. They have no other way to get cannabis.”

Last year, a similar measure was defeated in the Senate, but advocates of HB1234 hope that changes to the bill and Colorado’s new weed-friendly governor will improve its chances of becoming law.

“We have bipartisan support on this bill. We also have bipartisan opposition on this bill,” said Rep. Singer.

 

Medical Marijuana for Autism

On Autism Awareness Day, Governor Jared Polis (D) signed a bill that adds autism spectrum disorder to the list of qualifying conditions for medical marijuana. The new law enables children under the age of 18 with autism to be treated with medical cannabis, provided they have the approval of two physicians.

“It’s National Autism Day today, and we are acting by expanding patients’ access to cannabis products that help those with autism,” Polis said before signing the bill. “We know that not just anecdotally, but with a mounting amount of good scientific data that is coming in.”

Colorado’s former governor, John Hickenlooper (D) vetoed several cannabis bills last year, including one that would have given access to medical cannabis to people with autism.

 

CVS puts CBD topicals on stores shelves in 8 states

The largest drug store chain in the U.S. has started selling CBD products in eight states. CVS is partnering with Massachusetts-based Curaleaf to supply its hemp-derived CBD topicals, sprays, lotions, ointments, and salves. The CBD products are available in 800 stores in Alabama, California, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, and Tennessee.

“Anecdotally, we’ve heard from our customers that have used those products that, gee, it’s helped with pain relief for arthritis and other ailments,” CVS CEO Larry Merlo told CNBC. “So we’re gonna walk slowly, but we think this is something that customers are going to be looking for as part of the health offering.”

New Jersey lawmakers cancel vote on recreational cannabis

Legislation that would have legalized adult-use cannabis in New Jersey was pulled from a vote on Monday after failing to secure enough support from lawmakers. Earlier this month, Gov. Phil Murphy (D) announced that he had reached an agreement with leaders in the state legislature to legalize recreational marijuana and it seemed like legal weed in New Jersey was a sure thing. However, despite Democrats controlling both the state Assembly and Senate, there ultimately weren’t enough lawmakers committed to a yes vote.

Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D) said in a press conference that he and the governor are committed to passing cannabis legislation. “I may have underestimated the challenge of getting this passed,” Sweeney said. “We’ll be back at this. Anybody who thinks this is dead is wrong.”

On of the provisions of the proposed legislation would have expunged low-level marijuana convictions, and now that the bill won’t get a vote, residents will continue to face arrest and conviction for marijuana possession.

“I know that the biggest loss here is in terms of social justice and racial justice. We arrest 32,000 every year in New Jersey just for marijuana possession,” said New Jersey state director for the Drug Policy Alliance, Roseanne Scotti.

West Virginia passes law to provide cannabis banking

On Tuesday, Gov. Jim Justice (R) signed a bill that allows banks and other financial institutions to provide services to West Virginia’s medical marijuana industry.

“I will say, adamantly, I am 100 percent against recreational marijuana. But we have a lot of people and families out there who are truly hurting and if medical cannabis can help, we need to do everything we can to make life better for those West Virginians,” said Justice.

House Bill 2538 also created the Treasurer’s Medical Cannabis Fund to allow the state treasurer to collect funds for banking services as well as the Medical Cannabis Program Fund to collect fees related to the medical marijuana program.

 

Smoking medical marijuana is now legal in Florida. Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed a bill on Monday lifting a ban enacted in 2017 on smokable cannabis products.

“Over 70% of Florida voters approved medical marijuana in 2016 and today I signed SB182 ‘Medical Use of Marijuana’ into law. I thank my colleagues in the Legislature for working with me to ensure the will of the voters is upheld,” DeSantis tweeted. “Now that we have honored our duty to find a legislative solution, I have honored my commitment and filed a joint motion to dismiss the state’s appeal and to vacate the lower court decision which had held the prior law to be unconstitutional.”

While the new law is effective immediately, cannabis flower and other smokable products most likely won’t be available until this summer. The Florida Department of Health must create guidelines for physicians to prescribe medical marijuana to patients.

Under the new law, medical marijuana patients wishing to smoke cannabis flower must sign an informed consent form acknowledging the health risks associated with smoking. Smoking in public spaces or at private businesses subject to a cigarette smoking ban is prohibited.

Patients under the age of 18 are prohibited from smoking marijuana unless the patient is diagnosed with a terminal illness and receives a second recommendation from a pediatrician.

Qualified medical marijuana patients can buy up to a 210-day supply at a time, which amounts to 2.5 ounces of cannabis every 35 days.

Florida has nearly 200,000 registered medical marijuana patients, and the state’s medical marijuana dispensaries expect to see an increase in sales in the tens of millions. Marijuana Business Daily estimated that medical marijuana in Florida earned $200 million-$300 million in 2018. Comparably, in 2017, medical marijuana sales were at $20 million-$40 million.

Florida sets a cap on the number of medical marijuana dispensaries allowed to operate, but that rule is likely to be challenged. According to the Florida Department of Health, 85% of the state’s 107 dispensaries are operated by just five businesses.

In 2016, voters in Florida approved Amendment 2, legalizing medical marijuana. Florida’s former governor, Rick Scott, signed a bill in 2017 banning smokable medical marijuana.