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Should cannabis products in California come with warnings about rare, adverse reactions for people living with schizophrenia and other mental illnesses, or does it fuel false or exaggerated beliefs about cannabis?
Senate Bill 1097, the Cannabis Right to Know Act, was introduced February 16 by Sen. Richard Pan, and is sponsored by the Public Health Institute, a nonprofit. On June 21, it was amended in the Committee on Business and Professions, as support for the bill gained steam.
Some researchers say people must already have a predisposition for a mental disorder like schizophrenia for these types of negative reactions to occur, while others disagree. Others say certain types of products shouldn’t be a big concern.
“Cal NORML agrees that consumers should be educated about the risks of psychotic reactions, especially in connection with high-THC concentrates and dabs,” Dale Gieringer told High Times. “Cyclical vomiting syndrome is another concern. We doubt whether label warnings are a useful way of informing them, though. Consumers are already jaded by the proliferation of inane Prop. 65 warnings.”
Gieringer has been the state coordinator of California’s NORML branch since 1987, before adult-use regulations took effect, ramping up safety efforts. Requiring warnings like this on products like topicals and CBD products isn’t the solution, he says.
He continued, “We don’t think SB 1097 is the right answer. It doesn’t make sense to be posting these warnings on harmless products like topicals or high-CBD varieties. Consumers weren’t consulted by the authors of SB 1097. We think more research is needed to determine the best way of informing consumers about the risks of THC over-consumption.”
On June 30, the Kaiser Health News profiled an instance of a teen who had an adverse reaction to pot, and it was later revealed that he was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Liz Kirkaldie’s grandson didn’t have a good experience with cannabis, but he suffered from schizophrenia. The pot appeared to enhance delusions like hearing voices. “They were going to kill him and there were people coming to eat his brain. Weird, weird stuff,” Kirkaldie said. “I woke up one morning, and no Kory anywhere. Well, it turns out, he’d been running down Villa Lane here totally naked.”
“The drug use activated the psychosis, is what I really think,” she said.
Seek and ye shall find, and there are plenty of peer-reviewed studies that show the negative outcomes from cannabis use. According to a study published in The Lancet Psychiatry on March 19, 2019, the focus is on high-potency pot, and the risk is over four times greater for people who use high-potency pot daily than for those who have never smoked. But often these risks are blown out of proportion.
Fearmongers have banked on studies like these, such as Alex Berenson, author of Tell Your Children: The Truth About Marijuana, Mental Illness, and Violence—who was permanently banned from Twitter for you guessed it, the spread of misinformation. The way arguments are presented makes it seem as though schizophrenia is common.
Other researchers say drugs, nicotine, and other factors that aren’t pot muddy up the results in studies searching for a real correlation between pot and schizophrenia, nor other mental disorders.
A 2014 study, led by Ashley C. Proal and Dr. Lynn E. DeLisi of Harvard Medical School recruited pot smokers with and without a family history of schizophrenia, as well as non-smokers with and without such a history. But this time, the pot users did not use any other drugs, so they could rule out those factors. What they actually found was a heightened schizophrenia risk among people with a family history—regardless of cannabis use.
“My study clearly shows that cannabis does not cause schizophrenia by itself,” Dr. DeLisi told the New York Times in 2019. “Rather, a genetic predisposition is necessary. It is highly likely, based on the results of this study and others, that cannabis use during adolescence through to age 25, when the brain is maturing and at its peak of growth in a genetically vulnerable individual, can initiate the onset of schizophrenia.”
Other experts backed up Dr. DeLisi’s guess that schizophrenia warnings could be a bit inflated. “Usually it is the research types who are doing ‘the sky is falling’ bit, but here it is switched,” said Dr. Jay Geidd, a professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego. “The researchers are wary of overselling the dangers, as was clearly done in the past. However, clinicians overwhelmingly endorse seeing many more adolescents with ‘paranoia’”
SB 1097 now heads to an appropriations committee, sent on June 22, for another reading.
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The House Appropriations Committee approved a legislative amendment on Tuesday that would protect businesses and individuals participating in recreational cannabis programs legal under state law from interference and prosecution by the federal government. The amendment, which attaches a budget rider to the 2023 Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies appropriations legislation, was approved by a voice vote before the committee passed the entire bill by a vote of 31-24.
The bipartisan amendment was introduced by Democratic Representative Barbara Lee of California and Representative David Joyce, a Republican from Ohio. The legislation is also supported by congressional cannabis advocates who do not sit on the Appropriations Committee including Representative Earl Blumenauer of Oregon and District of Columbia Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton, both Democrats, as well as Republican Representative Tom McClintock of California.
Under the budget rider, the Department of Justice is prohibited from using federal resources to interfere with the authority of states, territories, tribal governments, or the District of Columbia to enact legislation to regulate the production, sale and use of cannabis. The legislation passed by the House also prohibits the government from taking action against adults who are acting in compliance with adult-use cannabis programs legal under state, tribal or territorial law.
“Congress must honor the will of the voters and prevent wasteful Department of Justice prosecution of those complying with their respective state’s or tribe’s cannabis regulations,” Blumenauer said in a statement. “I have spearheaded the work to develop this language, which protects the state and tribal-legal programs that have been enacted laws to end prohibitionary policies and allow the development of both adult-use and medical marijuana programs.”
Similar amendments have been approved by the full House of Representatives as part of omnibus appropriations legislation over the last two years but they were not included in the final version of the bills. Since 2014, Congress has passed appropriations bills that included protections for those acting in compliance with state-legal medical cannabis laws.
In 2018, former Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinded the Cole Memo, which since 2013 had directed the Department of Justice to assign a low priority to prosecutions for cannabis offenses legal under state law. Current Attorney General Merrick Garland has repeatedly said that enforcing marijuana prohibition laws are generally not an effective use of federal resources, although prosecutions continue in many jurisdictions.
Morgan Fox, the political director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), applauded the passage of the amendment in a statement from the cannabis policy reform advocacy group.
“As federal lawmakers steadily work to determine the best way to finally end marijuana prohibition and undo the damage it has caused, the people involved in regulated cannabis programs in the growing number of states that are leading the way on this issue deserve to know whether the federal government will actively get in the way of their continued successes,” said Fox. “Including these protections in the federal budget will go a long way toward giving individuals, businesses, and state governments some peace of mind while signaling to the vast majority of Americans who support legalizing and regulating cannabis that their elected representatives are actually listening to them.”
Reaction to the passage of the budget rider from representatives of the growing cannabis industry was mostly positive, although many experts noted that the legislation does not go far enough. Katrina Skinner, general counsel and chief banking officer at cannabis compliance platform Simplifya, said that while the amendment passed by the Appropriations Committee is a positive sign that some lawmakers are ready to make progress on policy reform, it does not have the force of comprehensive legislation to legalize cannabis nationwide. Skinner noted that previous legislation known as the Rohrabacher Farr amendment to protect state-legal medical cannabis programs was not applied consistently around the country.
“Although the House Bill is another symbolic step in the right direction for protecting state legal cannabis industries, it is unlikely to provide practical protections from federal law enforcement interference,” Skinner wrote in an email to High Times. “As we have seen before with the Rohrabacher Farr appropriations rider, federal law enforcement agencies have taken a narrow view about what constitutes ‘interference,’ and judicial decisions have differed by jurisdictions.”
“Finally, as worded, the bill does nothing to help protect interstate commerce rights for licensed operators, including transporting funds derived from legal sales across state lines so that the businesses can obtain limited banking services,” Skinner continued. “So long as marijuana remains illegal federally, federal law enforcement agencies have the right to investigate and prosecute violations related to the CSA.”
Christian Sederberg, founding partner of cannabis law firm Vicente Sederberg, said that the amendment will help protect cannabis policy reform at the state level.
“This measure reflects the increasingly popular opinion that the federal government has no business interfering in state cannabis programs,” Sederberg wrote in a statement to High Times. “As Congress works to find more comprehensive solutions to repealing federal prohibition, it is important that states continue to implement regulatory programs aimed at protecting public health and safety.”
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Regulators in Nevada on Tuesday gave the final sign-off to cannabis consumption lounges, paving the way for the establishments to perhaps open up by year’s end.
The state’s Cannabis Compliance Board voted on a slate of regulations for the lounges, a crucial regulatory hurdle in a process that has been nearly a year in the making.
According to local news station KLAS, some of the regulations approved by the board on Tuesday “included safety protocols at lounges, training requirements for staff, and location requirements for the lounges,” such as “certain distances from locations such as schools and community facilities.”
It was last August when Nevada lawmakers approved funding that had been requested by the Cannabis Compliance Board to hire staff and provide other support in the regulation of the lounges.
The Nevada Independent reported at the time that a legislative committee “unanimously approved three items that will provide the [Cannabis Compliance Board] with funds to hire more staff, work with the state attorney general’s office to hammer out regulations, and direct cannabis revenue toward education funding.”
Tyler Klimas, the executive director of the Cannabis Compliance Board, told the legislative committee at the time that the additional funding helped put the state on track to have the lounges open “at least the first quarter, or the first half of 2022.”
“Not only to see the lounges open, but then also the first part is where we would start to realize that revenue,” he said at the time.
Tuesday’s vote apparently keeps that timetable in place, with the Las Vegas Sun reporting that the board said the “first state-sanctioned cannabis consumption lounges could potentially open before the end of the year.”
It has been a long time coming for the Cannabis Compliance Board, which noted in a press release on Tuesday that it held 15 public meetings to go over potential regulations for the consumption lounges.
The board also provided details for prospective lounge owners.
“In addition to outlining the licensing and operation of consumption lounges, regulations approved today lay the groundwork for greater inclusion within Nevada’s cannabis industry,” the board said in the press release. “All applicants must submit a diversity plan, summarizing actionable steps and goals for meaningful inclusion. Additionally, half of the independent consumption lounge licenses in the initial round must be awarded to social equity applicants.”
“Prior to an open licensing period, the [Cannabis Compliance Board] plans to roll out tools and resources including worksheets, video tutorials and live webinars in order to ensure interested parties have access to the same information and are able to successfully submit an application,” the release continued. “The CCB expects to open the first licensing round for consumption lounges in the Fall, allowing for the first consumption lounges to open as early as the end of the year.”
Local news outlet KLAS reported that the Cannabis Compliance Board expects “40 to 45 applications for lounges attached to retail shops and 20 independent shops, 10 of which will go to social equity applicants.”
“What we are looking for is the impacts of drug policy on individuals and members of the community. We are looking at poverty level, we are looking at any past convictions of cannabis,” Klimas said, as quoted by KLAS.
Nevada legalized recreational cannabis use for adults back in 2017, but consumption has been confined to the private homes of individuals. That, of course, hasn’t stopped people from toking up in public. As The Street said, “while it is not technically legal to light up a joint while walking the Strip…the aroma in the air suggests that it’s happening quite regularly.”
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An historic crop is beginning to sprout in the Empire State. As New York inches closer to the launch of its adult-use cannabis market, the state’s inaugural cultivators are readying the first batch.
A report from the Associated Press on Wednesday put a spotlight on some of New York’s first legal recreational cannabis growers, who were awarded cultivation licenses back in April.
The AP highlighted “growers like Frank Popolizio of Homestead Farms and Ranch, where a small crew north of Albany earlier this month dug out shallow holes for seedlings before packing them in by hand.”
“It is an opportunity. There’s obviously going to be a demand for it,” Popolizio told the Associated Press. “And, hopefully, it benefits the farmers. Been a long time since there’s been a real cash crop.”
Popolizio is a recipient of the first roughly 200 licenses awarded to cultivators for New York’s forthcoming recreational cannabis market.
The state legalized recreational cannabis for adults last year, when former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed legislation that ended the prohibition and paved the way for a regulated cannabis market that is expected to launch by the end of this year.
But under Cuomo, the new marijuana program was slow to take shape, with key regulatory positions going unfilled for months.
After Cuomo resigned as governor last August amid allegations of sexual misconduct, he was replaced by Kathy Hochul, a fellow Democrat who made the launch of the adult-use cannabis program a priority.
Within a month of taking office, Hochul completed a pair of appointments to the state’s Office of Cannabis Management, saying at the time that “New York’s cannabis industry has stalled for far too long.”
In April, the New York State Cannabis Control announced that it had approved the first 52 adult-use cannabis cultivation licenses, with the state’s established hemp farmers getting first dibs.
“New York’s farms have been the backbone of our state’s economy since before the American Revolution, and now, New York’s farms will be at the center of the most equitable cannabis industry in the nation,” Hochul said at the time. “I’m proud to announce the first adult-use cannabis cultivation licenses in the state, and I’m proud of the work the Office of Cannabis Management and the Cannabis Control Board are doing to get adult-use cannabis sales up and running as fast as possible without compromising our mission to uplift communities and individuals most impacted by the past century of cannabis prohibition.”
Hochul’s office said that those farmers “must adhere to quality assurance, health, and safety requirements developed by the [Office of Cannabis Management],” including participation in “sustainability and equity mentorship programs that will help build the first generation of equity cannabis owners across the entire supply chain.”
In its report this week, the Associated Press noted that giving a “head start for hemp growers is an unusual way to gear up a marijuana market,” citing an expert who said that “states typically rely initially on their existing medical growers.”
“But New York’s move is a potential lifeline for farmers growing their crop for CBD during a slump in prices,” the Associated Press reported. “They have a chance to make much more money growing what is essentially the same plant, but with higher levels of THC — the compound that makes people feel high.”
As for the recreational dispensary licenses, the state said earlier this year that the first 100 of those will go to applicants with previous pot-related convictions, or family members of individuals with pot-related convictions.
The state’s Office of Cannabis management said that the initiative is “something that has not been done before.”
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One thing is true of the global cannabis industry. Just when you think that the light at the end of the tunnel is invariably just another train (i.e., at minimum a delay if not a setback) there are glimmers of hope on the horizon. This is certainly true of the British CBD market of late.
Here is the latest zinger. According to polling from an industry group, the Association for the Cannabinoid Industry (ACI), one fifth of British adults have tried CBD flower or oil and 58% of respondents overall believe it has health benefits.
Beyond this, the other data elicited from survey respondents was enlightening, if not a further indication that the British CBD biz is entering a whole new world. This starts with the fact (although unsurprising, given current market dynamics) that a whopping 38% of those surveyed also reported buying their products online.
However, this is far from the only interesting development of late in the UK—and both this and a few other developments are in part the strategic work of the ACI.
Beyond this fascinating market snapshot, the group has been actively bringing together senior members of the political class and recently commissioned a report calling for the government to take a more active leadership in reform to ensure the British industry develops into one that is world class.
On the other side of the Brexit divide, the British theoretically have more regulatory freedom to pursue new avenues of cannabis reform much more quickly than their neighbors across the Channel. There are several ways this is true—and even better, potential for fast reform exists on both the medical and recreational side. This has been blazingly obvious in just the last weeks as a British Parliamentary group suggested the entire scrapping of Novel Food regulation (at the same time their European counterparts further delayed 19 pending applications).
On the actual product front, beyond the conversation about eliminating the need for one specific and complicated regulation, this has been an interesting spring. The U.K., alone in Europe, has begun to formalize its CBD market—and further in a way unseen across the region (except perhaps in Switzerland right now, also outside of the E.U.).
Here is one of the biggies. It is possible to now advertise CBD products in a way unseen in Germany, for example. This is because the German Narcotic Law still covers CBD. This makes it very difficult to put stakes in the ground (although the landscape is clearly shifting albeit on legal grounds as treacherous as quicksand). The entire conversation about online sales is also proceeding in a way still enveloped in a vague and as a result frequently dangerous legal path in other countries.
Across the water from France, however, and it is clear that at least in some parts of the biz, the Brits are sallying forth in terms of blazing new trails to reform. This is of course true even though many and large complications still abound.
There has been an ongoing strategic conversation afoot in the U.K. ever since 2018 on how best to move the overall topic of full and final reform forward. Some have suggested that a “CBD strategy” was one way to do that—namely jettison anything out of the political push for immediate change with a THC percentage higher than 0.03% (if not zero in the extract and food discussion). This, in combination with medical users who could be counted on to lobby for both CBD and THC legalization, was seen as the best way to move the needle.
It is still unclear if that will be true. The British medical market has languished, in part because of the focus on an exclusive, privately insured segment of the seriously ill. There are, in direct comparison, thousands of legal German patients (even though of course the system here is far from perfect or even close to what it should be).
Beyond this, there are also increasing calls from several influential segments of the country, ranging not just from police chiefs who now dare to buck the status quo, to the mayor of London, and of course, patient and industry associations who are well heeled and politically connected.
What is clear, no matter which segment ends up pushing the needle finally into full reform, is that cannabis legalization in all its many faceted glories is afoot in the U.K. in a new way. And despite the many icebergs still dead ahead, is well on its way to mainstream acceptance by the majority of the population, who also will have access to it one way or another.
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The Texas Supreme Court recently upheld the state’s smokable hemp ban. This is bad news for the smokable hemp industry inside and outside of Texas. Today, we’ll look at what happened.
As our readers know, the federal 2018 Farm Bill classified “hemp” as an agricultural product and removed hemp from schedule I of the federal Controlled Substances Act. The Farm Bill authorized states to develop their own regulatory structure to govern hemp under the oversight of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Texas moved swiftly to adopt its own regulations generally permitting the manufacture and sale of hemp products. Texas prohibited the “processing” or “manufacturing” of hemp-containing products for “smoking.” Pursuant to this law, the Texas Department of State Health Services adopted a rule prohibiting the same.
A group of hemp businesses sued the Department seeking a declaration that the ban on smokable hemp violated the Texas constitution’s guarantee that “[n]o citizen of this State shall be deprived of life, liberty, property, privileges or immunities, or in any manner disfranchised, except by the due course of the law of the land.” (the “due course clause”). The hemp businesses argued the ban on smokable hemp was unconstitutional because it had “no rational connection” to any possible governmental interest and its real-world effect is so burdensome as to be oppressive when compared to any such interest.
The Texas Supreme Court disagreed and upheld the ban on smokable hemp. The court reasoned the hemp businesses have no protectable interest with respect to smokable hemp. The hemp businesses argued that the ban infringes on their liberty and property rights to work and earn a living. Such a right has been recognized by both the Texas Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court. But the court, rather than take a broad view of the right at issue, narrowly defined the right as the right to engage in the economic endeavor of manufacturing and processing smokable hemp products. Such a right, it found, enjoys no constitutional protection given the history of marijuana prohibition at state and federal levels. Consequently, it proclaimed, there is neither a “liberty interest” nor a “vested property interest” in the manufacture and processing of smokable hemp products.
In our view, the die was cast once the court narrowly defined the right at issue and the court’s reasoning is ultimately circular. If the existence of a right depends on its historical regulatory treatment, the court could only reach the conclusion that it did by narrowly defining the right to only include conduct prohibited for nearly a century. In more simple terms, once the court defined the right as the “right to manufacture and process smokable hemp products,” its historical analysis could only lead to the conclusion that no such right exists.
The principal takeaway is the legislative action is probably the only way reverse the ban on smokable hemp.
For more on smokable hemp bans, see:
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Hemp and cannabis are the same plant; their differences lie in what they’re composed of, how they look, and how they’re used. Learn more about the plant with Leafly.
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City lawmakers in Washington, D.C. adopted an emergency ordinance on Tuesday designed to ease access to the medical cannabis program in the nation’s capital by allowing all adults to “self-certify” their eligibility to use medicinal pot. Under the proposal, adults 21 and older would no longer be required to submit a recommendation to use medicinal pot from a health care provider when they apply for a medical cannabis identification card.
Supporters of the measure maintain that the bill will make it simpler for patients to gain access to medical cannabis, particularly for those who have difficulty seeing a doctor. Out of thousands of physicians practicing medicine in Washington, D.C., only 620 are registered to issue medical pot recommendations. In January, the city council passed a similar measure that allowed adults 65 and older to self-certify for medical cannabis card eligibility, but that ordinance expired on May 1.
“This self-certification is urgently needed for consumers and dispensaries alike,” said Councilmember Janeese Lewis George, as quoted by the DCist. “Expanding our patient base is a necessary first step to putting them on an equal playing field.”
The emergency ordinance passed on Tuesday was introduced by Councilmembers Kenyan McDuffie and Mary Cheh. Proponents of the bill also hope that it will help regulated medical dispensaries compete with the illicit cannabis economy.
“Due to the lower barriers to access in the gray market, a significant number of medical marijuana patients have shifted from purchasing their medical marijuana from legal medical dispensaries to the illicit gray market, creating a significant risk to the long-term viability of the District’s legal medical marijuana industry,” McDuffie and Cheh said in a statement accompanying the emergency bill. “If this trend continues, it is possible that gray market sales could wipe out the District’s legal marijuana dispensaries.
Cheh and McDuffie went on to state that given the “benefits that regulated and safe legal dispensaries provide to medical marijuana users in the District, it is vital that the industry survive until the District can stand up a regulated recreational market and transition toward full regulation of recreational marijuana products.”
The council members noted that Washington, D.C.’s permitted medical marijuana dispensaries face stiff competition from the city’s gray market for cannabis, which takes advantage of recreational cannabis decriminalization loopholes to operate with virtual impunity. One popular scheme features businesses who sell cheap merchandise at hyper-inflated prices and include what is ostensibly a gift of cannabis with the purchase.
“Savvy business owners have pushed the legal limits on the gifting industry,” McDuffie said ahead of the vote. “I’ve had medical dispensaries that have reached out to me and my staff and say that if we don’t pass this measure, it could put their businesses into jeopardy.”
Although possession of cannabis has been legalized since the passage of a 2014 ballot measure, the federal government has blocked implementation of the law that would allow for the opening of recreational pot retailers. At Tuesday’s meeting, Council Chairman Phil Mendelson said that he would still like to see additional legislation that targets Washington D.C.’s cannabis gifting shops, noting that the business will be vital infrastructure for a potential legalized adult-use cannabis market.
“It’s not an equal playing field and will never be as long as there are illegal cannabis gifting shops,” he said. “As long as there are these businesses, the legal industry won’t be there to step in [when legalization happens].”
The city council passed the ordinance by a unanimous vote at its meeting on Tuesday. The bill is now headed to the office of Mayor Muriel Bowser for her consideration. In a letter sent to the council on Tuesday, Bowser said that she is in favor of the legislation, according to media reports.
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'Tis the season to get to the great outdoors, but not all campsites are cannabis friendly in Canada. Here's what you need to know.
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Hemp was classified as an agricultural product when the 2018 Farm Bill was passed, but the Texas Supreme Court banned smokable hemp in 2019. This was challenged and overturned in August 2021 by the Travis County District Court, stating that it is unconstitutional to ban smokable hemp, and in December 2021, the Texas Supreme Court agreed to hear the case.
In March 2022, the Supreme court case was held with the Texas Department of State Health Services (and its commissioner, John Hellerstedt) and four smokable hemp companies (Crown Distributing, America Juice Co., Custom Botanical Dispensary, and 1937 Apothecary).
However, on June 24, the Texas Supreme Court Judge Jeffrey S. Boyd wrote in his opinion that smokable hemp is still banned. “Considering the long history of the state’s extensive efforts to prohibit and regulate the production, possession, and use of the Cannabis sativa L. plant, we conclude that the manufacture and processing of smokable hemp products is neither a liberty interest nor a vested property interest the due-course clause protects,” Boyd wrote.
The Texas Constitution mentions the right “to engage in any of the common occupations of life” and “pursue a lawful calling, business or profession,” but in Boyd’s opinion, these rights don’t apply to hemp production. “It is enough to observe that the due-course clause, like its federal counterpart, has never been interpreted to protect a right to work in fields our society has long deemed ‘inherently vicious and harmful.’”
Dallas-based hemp company Wild Hemp was the primary funding behind this effort, but the legal battle has come to an end. The company’s CEO, Zain Meghani, spoke with Dallas Observer about the ruling and how it will affect local hemp companies.
“This ruling hurts the Texas hemp industry top to bottom,” Meghani said.
Chelsie Spencer, founding member of Ritter Spencer PLLC in Addison, Texas, represented the hemp companies. “The Texas Supreme Court has determined that the Texas Constitution does not protect the economic liberty interest of smokable hemp manufacturers and processors in the state of Texas,” Spencer said. “We are profoundly disappointed in this decision and disheartened by the continued stigma surrounding cannabis. It is telling when the Court insinuates that cannabis is ‘inherently vicious and harmful.’”
Furthermore, the effort has been defeated and according to Spencer, Wild Hemp isn’t willing to spend more money to fight it. “They funded this case entirely and are now being kicked out of their home state.”
According to Spencer, the state loses with this decision to maintain a ban on smokable hemp. “I would anticipate increased consumer costs for Texas products, simply because the state kicked them out this morning, and they all have to move now,” Spencer told the Dallas Observer. “Most telling, our economic expert found that the state will lose one million in tax revenue from Wild Hempettes alone by 2024 by kicking them out.”
Wild Hemp sells a wide variety of hemp goods, such as hemp wraps, CBD Cigarillos, tinctures, topicals, paper cones, and of course their Hempettes CBD Cigarettes. Each cigarette pack can contain up to 1,500mg of CBD and come in four flavors: Natural, Menthol, Pineapple Blaze, and Sweet.
Smokable hemp will continue to be banned for sale and production, but there are other cannabis-related efforts happening in Texas that could lead to decriminalization for consumers. But there are still opposing parties to recreational legalization, including the Texas State Republican Party, which recently issued numerous planks, or stances, on cannabis and hemp. The party endorsed decriminalization in 2018, but stances announced at the 2022 Texas State Republican Convention support classifying cannabis as a Schedule II substance, but also states that recreational marijuana should remain illegal.
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Garcia Hand Picked, the cannabis brand founded by the family of legendary Grateful Dead lead guitarist Jerry Garcia, entered its fifth legal cannabis state today with an expansion into Colorado’s competitive recreational weed market. A collaboration between multistate operator Holistic Industries and Colorado craft cultivator Veritas Fine Cannabis, the Garcia Hand Picked line of cannabis products and merchandise was created in partnership with the family of the late Jerry Garcia.
“It’s an honor to finally have a presence in Colorado, one of our nation’s most discerning cannabis markets,” Trixie Garcia, one of Jerry’s daughters and spokesperson for the Garcia family, said in a statement. “Garcia Hand Picked works with an exclusive network [of] local growers in each market we’re in that have become part of the Garcia Hand Picked family, and we’re excited to bring only the highest quality, curated cannabis to our fans and friends in Colorado.”
Garcia Hand Picked debuted in California in 2020 and is now available in more than 300 dispensaries in California, Colorado, Maryland, Massachusetts and Oregon, with plans to expand to Michigan soon. According to market analyst BDSA, the collaboration is the leading celebrity cannabis brand in the United States. The strains available for the Colorado launch, which are named after songs written by Jerry Garcia and are selected to be perfect for any time of day, include Morning in Marin (Sativa), Love in the Afternoon (Hybrid) and After Midnight (Indica), among others.
In California, Garcia Hand Picked recently launched a program called Hand Picked Farms to support independent and legacy farmers, offering flower that is “Sun and Earth Certified,” meaning that it is sungrown in the ground without chemicals by farmers who are paid fairly for their work. Consumers can look for the “Sun and Earth Certified” Hand Picked Farms sticker on packs of Garcia Hand Picked flower sold in California dispensaries.
The Garcia Hand Picked line also includes a curated selection of premium indoor cannabis flower in collectible and re-usable glass jars. Each product is paired with a specially selected playlist of Jerry Garcia’s music that corresponds with the strains to create a unique brand experience. Fans can go to the “Music Never Stopped” section of GarciaHandPicked.com to listen to the musical selections.
Holistic Industries notes in a statement from the company that Jerry Garcia rarely smoked weed by himself, instead preferring a shared joint, which “became a bridge between him and those around him.” To honor that spirit, the Hand Picked Garcia line has emphasized pre-rolled joints featuring a custom glass tip with Jerry’s handprint, offered in eco-friendly packaging made from recycled paper. Other products in the collection include Jerry’s Picks, cannabis gummies shaped like Jerry’s actual guitar picks, which will be coming to the Colorado market soon. Merchandise, including apparel and accessories with original artwork by Jerry Garcia, the Garcia Hand Picked logo, and other designs will be available.
Jerry Garcia was the co-founder, lead guitarist, vocalist, and lead songwriter for the counterculture rock band the Grateful Dead, which rose from the 1960s San Francisco Bay Area scene of drugs, music, and social change. A groundbreaking artist with a career that spanned more than 30 years, Garcia was inducted with the Grateful Dead into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994, just a year before he died of a heart attack at a California drug rehab facility.
To celebrate the upcoming 80th anniversary of Jerry Garcia’s birth on August 1, the Colorado launch of Hand Picked Garcia will feature Bertha, a custom Airstream trailer that tours the country filled with music and merchandise, at The Jerry Garcia Symphonic Experience at Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, Colorado on June 29. Bertha will then tour select dispensaries across the state through the Fourth of July holiday weekend to mark the launch of Hand Picked Garcia to the Colorado market.
“Playing music in Colorado was always a high point for Jerry, he dug the closeness of the audience and the energy that flowed more freely in the mountain air,” said Jerry’s daughter Annabelle Garcia, a spokesperson for the Garcia family. “The hidden stories in the rocks were a source of cosmic speculation and inspiration on the long drives to and from the shows. For Jerry, every ridge held a secret treasure, or an alien spacecraft, or a Bigfoot listening to the shows.”
“Red Rocks is the perfect venue to celebrate our Father’s 80th birthday! Where the sky and mountains meet, we will make a joyful noise and spread some good lovin’,” added Trixie Garcia. “The symphonic interpretation of these cherished tunes elevates them to an otherworldly place, and when ‘Terrapin Station’ erupts, and the big instruments start to resonate, it’s going to be very powerful!”
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Fair Trials, a globally focused nongovernmental non-profit organization which campaigns for the right to a fair trial and against discrimination within justice systems is, along with the Last Prisoner Project, calling on the cannabis industry for action. They want to begin addressing the harm caused by cannabis prohibition—on a global basis—by working to free those jailed for cannabis possession and use.
Cannabis legalization may now be a reality in more and more countries across the globe. However, far too many people remain behind bars or continue to suffer directly from the war on the plant.
“The injustice of cannabis prohibition has resulted in millions of people worldwide serving time in prison or being saddled with a cannabis conviction, which brings with it a lifetime of harmful consequences, ranging from education and employment opportunities to immigration status and parental rights,” said Fair Trials Global CEO Norman L. Reimer.
“These harmful effects of prohibition not only impact the individuals charged, but also their families and communities. And those effects have been borne disproportionately by minorities, communities of colour, and the socio-economically disadvantaged. Legalising cannabis alone does not equal justice. Together, we must address the ongoing harms of past prohibition and leave no cannabis prisoner behind,” he said.
The campaign will be modeled on the American Cannabis Justice Initiative—a joint effort between the industry and volunteer lawyers.
According to the ACLU, half of all American drug arrests in 2010 were for cannabis. Of the 8.2 million cannabis arrests between 2001 and 2010, 88% were for simple possession. While these numbers have dropped dramatically since then (according to NORML), several hundred thousand Americans are arrested in states where the drug is still outlawed to this day.
The problem of course is not confined to the U.S.
Even in Europe, which has a far more lenient policy towards all drug use and cannabis in particular, people still go to jail for the “crime” of both possession and home cultivation (even for medical use). In Germany, for example, cannabis is the number one “illicit” drug of choice and, of course, also accounts for the vast number of arrests. In Spain, the organizer of the club movement, Albert Tió, was prosecuted with jail time for his role in the same. However, here, like other places in the world, even the threat of prison does not deter users—and according to those who study the issue, it is not likely to in the future. Finland remains the E.U. state with the most people imprisoned for use.
Outside of the E.U., there are places where cannabis “crimes” are punished more harshly, including with life sentences or even the death penalty. Of these, most are in the “east” and Asia. Thailand in fact just made global news with the release of 4,200 prisoners in jail for cannabis (in conjunction with the implementation of federal liberalization policies). In other countries, reform has not happened yet—starting with China. Singapore and Malaysia have both been in the news over the last several years for sentencing people to death for possession. Last year, in the United Arab Emirates, a 25-year sentence was handed to a British soccer coach in possession of CBD oil.
The War on Drugs may finally be ending. But its terrible legacy still creates a dark overhang that shadows far too many people’s lives.
To find out more about the project, contact Norman L. Reimer at norman.reimer@fairtrials.net or Ivan J. Dominguez at ivan.dominguez@fairtrials.net.
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Complying with cannabis business regulations presents a challenge for start-ups and smaller firms. Corporate and regulatory attorneys often help clients understand and comply with complex regulations. This is especially true in the cannabis industry.
In the United States, many industries lack well thought out regulatory policy. Some industries, like cannabis, suffer from over-regulation, overwhelming smaller businesses with the legal costs of compliance. Others suffer from under-regulation, leading to a lack of consumer and employee protection, as well as confusion and chaos. Under-regulation of our financial market was part of what led to the Great Recession in 2008.
Attorneys are usually the ones best positioned to critique bad business regulations and advocate for better policy. Well-resourced corporations often hire attorney-lobbyists to do just that. Most small or medium-sized cannabis businesses cannot afford to lobby, and so they instead join trade organizations or the like to advocate together as a group. But collective bargaining comes with its downsides. For example, one person’s business interests may diverge from their peers’. Plus, industries include countless different business types, and what’s good for the goose may not be good for the gander.
So the question becomes: How does one advocate for better cannabis business regulations? Here’s an answer in two parts:
Good cannabis regulatory policy seeks to address three main concerns: (1) economic and social cost; (2) effectiveness; and (3) sustainability.
In other words, do the benefits justify the costs? The costs of regulation for both a regulator and the industry shouldn’t exceed the social costs that would result in the absence of regulation. So, the costliest types of regulations (known as command and control or “hard law”) should be reserved for scenarios where a lack of regulation leads to significant social harm. Is the method of regulation even effective at achieving those benefits? If it’s not, then it’s definitely not necessary. And perhaps another method would cost less or at least be more effective.
In the cannabis industry, many regulations cause inordinate costs for businesses but don’t benefit the public much. This includes location restrictions for retailers. No real social harm results from retailers being near libraries and parks, but these and other similar policies unduly burden cannabis businesses with higher real estate costs and make licensing unnecessarily competitive, driving costs up further. Legislators presumably adopt these policy in place to keep kids and other vulnerable populations away from cannabis dispensaries. But hundreds of thousands of people (including kids) walk and drive the major streets where cannabis retailers are located. So these regulation are not even effective in achieving their presumed goal.
Is it flexible enough to make room for complexity and nuance? Can it adapt to changes in the economy or society? Good regulation respects the autonomy and individuality of operators, understands that industries are complex, and allows room for change and innovation.
For example, cannabis cultivators in Washington State are now subject to product testing at any time. If their product fails certain tests, they have no choice but to destroy entire batches. This lack of flexibility doesn’t make room for complex and unpredictable situations that arise when growing cannabis outdoors, such as pesticide drift. Forcing businesses to destroy entire batches of product without an opportunity to remediate a problem is anything but sustainable.
When faced with new regulations coming down the legislative pipelines, these are some questions one should ask oneself before writing public comments or rallying your colleagues to lobby legislators: is this cannabis business regulation necessary given its costs and benefits? And, if so, is it adaptable and flexible enough to be sustainable? Answering those questions will help one frame a more persuasive response to potentially harmful regulations. It will also help think of recommendations for better business regulations to address the issue at hand.
Cannabis business regulation is often political. Legislators, motivated by electoral politics, influence regulations that align with political and social views rather than more practical concerns. In a representative democracy, this sort of politicization is common and often necessary. But, unfortunately, harmful social norms, stigmas, and beliefs often unduly influence politics. Social norms and stigmas come from a multitude of sources, some positive, and some not so positive. Understanding the social and political landscape that influences regulation will help inform one’s advocacy.
For example, many people still believe that cannabis is a scary drug, and local level regulators respond to those pressures and create strict regulations or bans. Cannabis bans across the State of California are a perfect example of this issue. So when lobbying for better cannabis regulations, advocates often emphasize the science that dispels many of the public’s concerns about the plant. Convincing the public is often just as important as convincing legislators. This is where advocacy becomes about organizing, too.
In conclusion, to advocate for better cannabis business regulation, one should first try to figure out what good cannabis business regulation would look like. This may take some consultation with lawyers and experts in the field, especially if one is new to it. Then one should try to understand the underlying motivation of the regulations, the answer could be social stigma or politicization. Finally, one should put together public comments and advocate accordingly.
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The first-ever cannabis tournament officially sanctioned by the state of California announced its first lineup of winners ahead of this year’s festivities at the California State Fair.
The California State Fair Cannabis Awards announced on June 23 the top cultivars and cultivators in California with a full list of award winners. Over 300 entries were whittled down to 60 trophies and medals, with gold and silver medals, as well as the coveted Golden Bear Award for the “Best of California” overall winners.
The Cal Expo Fairgrounds is home to the California State Fair, an independent state agency established by law under state statutes. This year’s State Fair runs from July 15 through July 31, however consumption won’t be allowed.
The science-based competition divided up cannabis flower entries across three divisions: indoor, mixed light, and outdoor. Beyond that, categories were separated by terpenes and cannabinoids rather than traditional divisions like sativa or indica.
Lab testing was provided by SC Labs to determine the winners in 10 categories: Cannabinoids consisting of CBDa, CBGa, and THCa, as well as Terpenes including Myrcene, beta-Caryophyllene, Limonene, Ocimene, Terpinolene, Pinene, and a “co-dominant” category. Every entry had to undergo California compliance testing requirements to maximize public safety and identify the genetics accurately. Each award winner provides a PhytoFact report.
At first glance, MOCA Humboldt, Esensia, and Greenshock Farms took home the most wins at this year’s competition. MOCA Humboldt took home gold wins for Wookies, Grape Cookies (2x), and ZOG in various categories, organized according to terpenes and cannabinoids. Ridgeline Farms also took home three silver wins for Apples & Bananas, Green Lantern, and Ridgeline Runtz.
Perhaps among the most interesting finds, Emerald Spirit Botanicals took home the special Unique category in outdoor for Pink Boost Goddess, which is rich in THCV. Joseph Haggard serves as Farm Manager and Public Relations at Emerald Spirit Botanicals, and his mother Katie Jeane bred Pink Boost Goddess.
“It is with deep gratitude and honor that we are recognized as a winner in the inaugural year of the California State Fair Cannabis Awards,” Jeane told High Times. “Pink Boost Goddess represents patient, meticulous, and prayerful breeding work to bring forward new medicine for humanity.”
Jeane continues, “Six years ago, I asked the spirit of cannabis how I could support its evolution forward and was guided to focus on THCV. Through intentional, spiritual, and scientific breeding work, I was able to identify and strengthen THCV in Pink Boost Goddess. To me, THCV represents focus, joy, a shift in perspective, and an opportunity to reflect on how we consume. THCV is known to help regulate appetite, improve focus, help regulate blood sugar for diabetics and reduce neuropathic pain in some situations. I think it’s important to recognize that cannabis has so much more to offer than THC, and THCV is an example of that.”
It’s through these lesser known cannabinoids that consumers can truly reach better healing. “By understanding minor cannabinoids we can better understand the healing powers of the cannabis plant. It’s amazing to see Pink Boost Goddess receive seven major awards over the last two years including two 1st Place Emerald Cup Awards, a most unique cannabinoid profile award, an exotic terpene profile award, the highest THCV flower in California award and now this award for most unique flower in California.”
Pink Boost Goddess provides an uplifting, joyful, and focused experience with smooth floral notes and a hint of peppery gas. Their flower is available through Farm Cut locations throughout California and through a few other brands listed on emeraldspiritbotanicals.com.
Others shared the fine qualities about cannabis that make them award winners, and how the event itself is helping to elevate the cannabis experience. “Adding cannabis cultivation, alongside wine, craft beer, cheese and olive oil, was a perfect fit with the CA State Fair’s history of celebrating California’s rich agriculture history,” said California Exposition and State Fair Board of Director Chair Jess Durfee. “We are excited for our inaugural winners.”
KOLAS Technology SBM, a subsidiary of KOLAS, will provide each winner with a registered digital certification via blockchain technology to authenticate and protect the award-winning product.
“We love the science-based lab testing involved with this competition and are honored to be a part of the legendary CA State Fair,” said MOCA Humboldt Vice President of Marketing and Sales Aaron Salles. “This relationship lends legitimacy to our industry and provides us an opportunity to educate people about the many benefits of the cannabis plant.”
There will be a non-consumption ceremony for winners at the upcoming fair’s CA Cannabis Exhibit at the Cal Expo Fairgrounds in Sacramento, California.
“We are honored and humbled to be recognized for our craft, amongst top notch California cultivators and alongside the best agricultural products the state has to offer,” said Esensia Co-founder Ben Blake. “It takes three-to four years of meticulous work for us to develop a strain from scratch to sale, akin to winemaking, it is truly a craft process.”
Click here for a full list of award winners.
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WNBA star Brittney Griner, who has spent more than four months in a Russian prison, will go on trial for cannabis possession charges on Friday. Griner was arrested at an airport near Moscow in February after customs officials reportedly found cannabis vape cartridges in her luggage. Since then, her detention has been extended several times as Russian authorities prepared to prosecute her for the alleged offense.
On Monday, Griner appeared at a court in the Moscow suburb of Khimki for a preliminary hearing. Appearing apprehensive as she was escorted into the courtroom in handcuffs, Griner’s detention was extended for another six months pending the outcome of her prosecution, according to her attorney, Alexander Boikov, who confirmed the Friday start of her trial to CNN. Video shared by an NPR reporter showed Griner entering and leaving the courtroom in the custody of authorities.
“It was good to see her in some of those images, but it’s tough. Every time’s a reminder that their teammate, their friend, is wrongfully imprisoned in another country,” Phoenix Mercury coach Vanessa Nygaard said on Monday after news of Griner’s court appearance broke. “It’s tough on our team. It is good to see her. See how she’s doing? I don’t know if she’s doing OK.
“At least we get to see an image of her. Hopefully with this trial happening quickly that some things will change and that President Biden will take the steps to ensure she comes home.”
Boikov told The New York Times that depending on the court’s workload, Griner’s trial on cannabis possession charges could last as long as two months.
Griner’s arrest and detention came to light in the early days of Russia’s war with neighboring Ukraine. With much of the world community united against Russian President Vladimir Putin with economic sanctions and other measures, many see the WNBA star center’s prosecution as a political act designed to gain concessions from the West.
U.S Representative Colin Allred, who represents Griner’s home district in Texas, said that she is “for intents and purposes a political prisoner” and warned her fans to be ready for a “sham” trial that results in a conviction and prison time.
“This will all mean nothing, and I will keep working closely with the Biden Administration to bring her, and all Americans detained abroad, home safely,” Allred said in a statement to The Washington Post.
The congressman added that Griner’s court appearance this week and impending trial “are all theater to give Russia some appearance of having a fair legal system and for her detention to be anything other than a deeply cynical, geo-political power play with a prominent American and to put more pressure on the negotiations for her release.”
On June 14, the Russian state news agency TASS reported that Griner’s detention has been extended until at least July 2, the second time authorities have lengthened her stay in jail as she awaits a hearing in the case. At the time, Aron Solomon, the chief legal analyst for Esquire Digital, told Insider that he believed that the reported deadline “is as fictitious as any other date.”
“Anyone still taking Russia’s word for anything in the Griner case is being foolish,” he said. “This ‘hearing’ will never happen.”
“She will either be clandestinely found guilty and sent to prison camp or she will be in a prisoner swap,” Solomon added.
Griner is a seven-time WNBA All-Star center who has played for the Phoenix Mercury since the 2013 season, including the team’s 2014 league championship crew. She has also twice won the Olympic gold medal with the U.S. women’s basketball team.
Griner has played seven seasons of professional basketball in Russia during the WNBA off-season, a common practice among the league’s players. She earns about $1 million per season to play in Russia, about four times the salary she earns playing for the WNBA. On January 29, Griner played her latest game with her team UMMC Ekaterinburg before the Russian league took a break for the FIBA World Cup qualifying tournaments.
The Russian Customs Service reported on March 5 that an American women’s basketball player had been detained after cannabis vape cartridges were discovered in her luggage at the Sheremetyevo airport. The date of the arrest was not given and the name of the player was not included in the report. Russian authorities also released a video that appeared to show the star center with customs officials at an airport security checkpoint.
The Russian state news agency TASS later reported that the arrested player was Griner. Although the date of Griner’s arrest was not announced, media outlets reported that she has been in custody since February 17. After news of the arrest made headlines, the WNBA and the players’ union issued messages of support for the star athlete.
“Brittney Griner has the WNBA’s full support, and our main priority is her swift and safe return to the United States,” the league said in a statement after Griner’s arrest was announced.
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The United States Supreme Court last week declined to take up a pair of cases that challenged a state’s decision to not include medical cannabis in its workers’ compensation program.
Given all of the seismic activity in the high court as of late, you are forgiven if you missed that.
From abortion to guns to prayer in school, the emboldened, conservative Supreme Court has taken on seemingly every hot button issue but cannabis, issuing a series of decisions that are poised to reshape American life and deepen the country’s polarization.
No decision rendered by the court in the last week—or perhaps in the last 50 years—has inflamed passions and divided the nation more than Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade and ended the constitutional right to an abortion.
In a 6-3 ruling, the court’s conservative justices effectively handed abortion policy back to the states. The result was swift, with outright abortion bans taking effect immediately in a handful of states: South Dakota, Wisconsin, Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kentucky, and Alabama. A number of other states with their own highly restrictive abortion laws also were triggered by the ruling.
In overturning Roe, which had enshrined the right to an abortion in the United States for nearly 50 years, the court essentially laid the groundwork for a country in which abortion is widely available in liberal blue states, but severely restricted—if not outlawed completely—in conservative red states.
“Roe was egregiously wrong from the start,” Justice Samuel Alito wrote in the majority opinion. “Its reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences.”
The court’s liberal bloc wrote a scathing dissenting opinion.
“With sorrow—for this Court, but more, for the many millions of American women who have today lost a fundamental constitutional protection—we dissent,” the three justices wrote jointly.
The decision sparked immediate nationwide protests and is poised to animate this year’s midterm elections and the 2024 presidential campaign.
A day before it announced its decision in Dobbs, the Supreme Court handed down another decision that will likely have ripple effects throughout the country.
In a 6-3 ruling, the court struck down New York’s century-old law that imposes strict limits on an individuals’ ability to carry a gun outside their home.
Writing for the majority, Justice Clarence Thomas asserted that the Second Amendment ensures “an individual’s right to carry a handgun for self-defense outside the home.”
The law, which had been in place since 1911, required “applicants for a license to carry a gun outside of their homes to have a ‘proper cause’ to do so,” according to NBC News.
Per The New York Times, the decision “is expected to spur a wave of lawsuits seeking to loosen existing state and federal restrictions and will force five states — California, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts and New Jersey, home to a quarter of all Americans — to rewrite their laws.”
On Monday, the Supreme Court continued its string of contentious decisions by ruling in favor of a Seattle area high school football coach who conducted a prayer at the 50-yard-line following his team’s games.
In yet another 6-3 ruling, the court’s majority said that the coach’s ritual is protected under the First Amendment.
“Respect for religious expressions is indispensable to life in a free and diverse republic — whether those expressions take place in a sanctuary or on a field, and whether they manifest through the spoken word or a bowed head,” Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote for the majority.
The coach, Joseph Kennedy, had been suspended by the school district when he refused to stop the post-game prayer.
Gorsuch contended that Kennedy’s prayers were done quietly and discreetly, a point that Justice Sonia Sotomayor fiercely disputed.
In her dissenting opinion, Sotomayor noted that “Kennedy consistently invited others to join his prayers and for years led student-athletes in prayer.” Her opinion also included a photo of Kennedy kneeling in prayer with a large group of players. The prayer resulted in undue pressure on members of the team, Sotomayor argued.
“Students look up to their teachers and coaches as role models and seek their approval,” Sotomayor wrote. “Students also depend on this approval for tangible benefits. Players recognize that gaining the coach’s approval may pay dividends small and large, from extra playing time to a stronger letter of recommendation to additional support in college athletic recruiting.”
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According to The New York Times, the last time that Veterans Affairs (VA) explored psychedelics as a medical treatment was in 1963. This was around the same time that the Central Intelligence Agency and U.S. Army was testing LSD as a way to “mind-control” enemies. Many decades later, these four researchers are bridging the gap between veteran mental health and psychedelic-assisted therapy. These studies are being conducted by VA clinicians, and the results could lead the way to more studies in the future.
Dr. Shannon Remick, is conducting a study with 10 veterans in a VA clinic in Loma Linda, California. She became one of the first doctors since the 1960s to be allowed to use psychedelics as a treatment in that clinic, which is overseeing the progress of combat veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Each volunteer will experience three sessions using MDMA as a way to explore their condition, and begin each session with calming activities (such as breathing exercises or poem readings). Sessions are led by the patient, but assisted through the process with the help of a therapist who mainly listens, rather than directs.
“We are alongside and with the patient as they are exploring a kind of excavation site,” Dr. Remick said. “Ultimately, it’s not for us to point and say, ‘Hey, look at that,’ because what I’m seeing may not be the same from their angle.”
Dr. Rachel Yehuda actually delayed her retirement to dedicate herself to psychedelic-assisted therapy. She sought out permission to help PTSD sufferers with MDMA, and began the study earlier this year in January. Her study is examining the effects of MDMA on PTSD patients, specifically to determine whether two or three sessions are more beneficial overall.
Yehuda herself participated in an MDMA trip in 2019 for therapist training. “It made me really understand what it is you’re supposed to be doing in psychotherapy,” Dr. Yehuda said. “I’ve never quite understood what it means to have a breakthrough.” She also noted the importance of doing such a process with “the right therapists.”
Dr. Leslie Morland has over two decades worth of experience with PTSD therapies, and is also exploring how MDMA could help veterans after they return home from duty—specifically as a way to make couples therapy more successful. Her clinical study is expected to begin at the end of 2022, and will study eight participants and their respective partners in San Diego.
“A lot of our military learn to emotionally disconnect in order to be effective in combat,” Dr. Morland said. “And then we’re bringing them back and saying: Now we need you to open up with our talk therapy.” With the help of MDMA, Morland hopes to see an increase in bonding and empathy in her patients. “How do they work together to really sustain the improvements that have been achieved in therapy?”
Finally, Dr. Christopher Stauffer has previously explored the effectiveness of psilocybin as a way to combat substance abuse. One of his studies will review how psilocybin can assist 30 veterans who are addicted to methamphetamine. Half of them will receive conventional therapy plus two psilocybin therapies, and the other half will only receive conventional therapy.
Another study led by Stauffer will review how MDMA can help group therapy sessions for veterans. “[MDMA is] brand-new to a lot of people and yet it’s been around longer than most of our psychiatric medications have been around,” Dr. Stauffer said. “But it feels like we’re approaching it this time with a lot more knowledge and a lot of more rigorous research practices that didn’t really exist back in the ’50s and ’60s.”
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Leafly investigates why police and media spread ‘fentanyl-laced marijuana’ rumors when lab results disprove the claims.
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Chambers and Partners, a London-headquartered research company that publishes detailed rankings of the world’s leading law firms and lawyers, recently named Harris Bricken one of the top cannabis law firms in the United States, in Band 2, and singled out two of our cannabis business lawyers for special recognition. This was the second straight year that the firm, as well as Hilary Bricken and Vince Sliwoski, all took home honors.
Chambers and Partners assess law firms on criteria including:
View the Harris Bricken ranking HERE.
View Hilary’s ranking HERE.
Chambers and Partners ranked Harris Bricken Los Angeles partner Hilary Bricken as a Band 1 lawyer in Cannabis Law: the Western United States for the second straight year, describing her as “very prominent in the market.” Chambers and Partners went on to say, “She is a top-notch regulatory lawyer and expert in California. I hold her in high regard.”
Hilary is one of the premier cannabis business and regulatory attorneys in the United States and is licensed to practice law in California, Washington, and Florida. As chair of Harris Bricken’s Regulated Substances practice group, she helps cannabis companies of all sizes with their cannabis-related business and regulatory needs.
View Vince’s ranking HERE.
Harris Bricken Portland partner Vince Sliwoski was also honored for his work in Cannabis Law and ranked as a Band 3 lawyer, for the second straight year. He was described as “a very good lawyer” who is “extremely helpful and he knows the market really well.”
Vince is Harris Bricken’s managing partner. He runs our law firm’s award-winning Canna Law Blog and Psychedelics Law Blog and regularly confers with the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission on agency rules and policy. Vince has been hired by the Oregon State Bar and private parties as an expert witness in several cannabis-related disputes. He also taught one of the first law school courses nationwide on Cannabis Law & Policy, from 2017 to 2021.
For more information about Harris Bricken’s Cannabis Law practice, please see HERE. To read our thoughts on cannabis industry legislation, regulation and compliance, please visit our Canna Law Blog
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