Author: Keegan Williams

[ad_1] Almost two years following the death of a 27-year-old worker in a Massachusetts cannabis production facility, state and federal investigators said that work-related occupational asthma was the cause of death during the January 2022 incident. The first case of its kind “illustrates missed opportunities for prevention,” according to an analysis published in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Nov. 17 “Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.” The CDC report “represents findings of an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) inspection, which included a worksite exposure assessment, coworker and next-of-kin interviews, medical record reviews, and collaboration with the Massachusetts…

[ad_1] Following a major 2018 judgment, which decriminalized the private use of cannabis, it appears that South Africa could finally be inching toward legalization of personal cannabis use. However, there are a number of asterisks — as there often are when it comes to cannabis reform. On Tuesday, the South African National Assembly approved a bill that would legalize the personal use of cannabis, BusinessLIVE reports. The Cannabis for Private Purposes Bill has been in the works since the country decriminalized private cannabis use in 2018 and now heads to the National Council of Provinces for concurrence. Parties including the…

[ad_1] Just over a year ago, Missouri voters approved Amendment 3 to legalize cannabis possession and sales for adults over 21. While witnessing how quickly the market found its footing, with sales beginning less than three months later on Feb. 3, 2023, perhaps more impressive is the state’s commitment to cannabis-related expungements. Under Amendment 3, all nonviolent cases related to cannabis are required to be expunged, meaning that the case record is sealed or destroyed and involved persons are cleared of their charges. While fully completing expungements is unlikely to happen under the deadlines indicated in the new law, the…

[ad_1] Medicann is launching the first medical cannabis clinic in Ireland and is immediately accepting patients who believe they may be eligible for treatment, according to a news release. The clinic will cover “all conditions treatable with medicinal cannabis,” not limited to those recognized by Ireland’s Medicinal Cannabis Access Programme. Currently, there are three qualifying conditions included under the Medicinal Cannabis Access Programme: spasticity associated with multiple sclerosis, intractable nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy and severe treatment-resistant epilepsy. A Step Forward for Medical Cannabis in Ireland While Medicann has only just launched, patients have been able to register their…

[ad_1] Since the 2018 Farm Bill authorized hemp production and removed the crop from the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) schedule of Controlled Substances, the hemp-derived cannabinoid industry has boomed across the nation — including the sale of hemp-derived, psychoactive delta-8 and delta-9 THC. Virginia is one of the more recent states to contest the ever-increasing hemp-derived cannabinoid market, namely as it pertains to THC. While hemp businesses recently requested an injunction, which would have blocked a new state law imposing stricter limits on hemp products with intoxicating amounts of THC, a federal judge in Northern Virginia rejected the effort in…

[ad_1] A poll commissioned by the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol (CRMLA)—the campaign supporting the ballot initiative—and conducted by FM3 Research surveyed likely November voters in mid-August, specifically asking about their stance on ushering in recreational cannabis laws for the Buckeye State. The results found that roughly three out of five Ohio voters support the cannabis legalization measure set to appear on the November ballot, and nearly two-thirds of respondents said that they believe adult-use cannabis legalization in Ohio is “inevitable.” Most Ohioans Support November’s Adult-Use Cannabis Measure The survey consisted of 843 total interviews for Ohio voters likely…

[ad_1] A new study conducted by New York’s Columbia University researchers used a massive database from the U.S. Centers of Disease Control’s National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey in an effort to determine whether cannabis users had higher levels of any of 17 different metals in their blood or urine.  The study ultimately revealed that cannabis-only users had higher lead levels in their blood and urine, compared to non-users of tobacco and cannabis, along with elevated levels of cadmium — ultimately affirming the need for testing of cannabis products for heavy metals in the legal market and the need for…

[ad_1] Ohio just approved a statewide vote on adult-use cannabis on November’s upcoming ballot, and it’s looking like business would be booming should it be approved. A study published earlier this month by researchers at Ohio State University suggests that Ohio could generate between $275 million and $403 million by the fifth year of operations in adult-use tax revenue, should voters move to legalize. Establishing a Baseline The study, titled “What Tax Revenues Should Ohioans Expect If Ohio Legalizes Adult-Use Cannabis,” used cannabis tax data from Michigan fiscal year 2021 as the main point of reference to estimate Ohio’s potential…

[ad_1] While states throughout the U.S. continue to embrace the new legal wave of cannabis, it doesn’t eclipse the strife within the industry. Over the past few years, the industry has faced issues around oversupply, falling prices, stringent regulations and distribution problems, among others, which often fall especially heavy on cultivators. Now, new research findings show exactly how these employees are faring in the current climate. According to the third edition of the U.S. Cannabis Cultivator survey from Wells Fargo, a majority of growers have a grim outlook on the current state of the cannabis market, as reported by Green…

[ad_1] According to a new study, New York City consumes more cannabis out of any city in the world, at 62.3 metric tons (approximately 137,000 pounds) per year. The study, compiled as the “2023 Cannabis Global Price Index,” was conducted by health information resource CFAH, which collected data on cannabis prices from 140 cities worldwide. In addition to exploring the highest cannabis-consuming cities in the world, the research explored the cities with the most and least expensive cannabis and the price trajectory for cannabis in the U.S. Which Cities Consume the Most Cannabis? CFAH examined the top and bottom cannabis-consuming…

[ad_1] The Land Down Under made a historic move over the weekend, though some experts are cautious as to how exactly the major change will fully pan out. Australia became the first country in the world to authorize psilocybin and MDMA use through a doctor’s prescription to treat psychiatric conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. Beginning Saturday, July 1, both drugs were authorized for therapeutic use after regulators approved the up-and-coming treatment option earlier this year. Australia Makes Psychedelic History Australia’s drug regulator, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), approved the move back in February and indicated that the…

[ad_1] It goes without saying that spreading reform and adult-use legalization over the past decade is transforming the way we look at cannabis and increasing its accessibility. Throughout this new journey, the opposition has regularly brought up concerns around increased underage access. While many studies have already worked to debunk that more legal cannabis innately means higher use among minors and young adults, a new study looks a bit broader. Researchers with the University of Oklahoma tracked substance use patterns in a cohort of more than 8,000 young adults (aged 18 to 24 years old) over six years to track…