The DEA is planning on ramping up marijuana production for research purposes in 2019, Forbes reports. While the agency allowed the production of about 1,000 pounds of cannabis in 2018, that amount will increase to 5,400 pounds in 2019.
Meanwhile, the DEA wants a reduction of opioid medicines—like oxycodone, hydrocodone, morphine, and fentanyl—produced in the US.
Also this week, the Washington Post considered the likelihood that Congress will legalize hemp with the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill. But will hemp, they ask, live up to its hype?
And an op ed in Hemp looked at elements of the Farm Bill that should be slashed. Attorney Cristina Buccola argues that the provisions that would ban former drug offenders from the hemp industry, and that change food assistance programs, should both go up on the chopping block.
In Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, city council has banned the sale of CBD products in the downtown shopping district. E-cigarettes, vape products, smoking paraphernalia, and “sexually oriented merchandise” were all included in the ban. But cigarettes and cigarette smoking, oddly enough, are still A-OK in the district.
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The Korean Cannabinoid Association will conduct large-scale clinical trials on CBD using blockchain technology and artificial intelligence. The association’s president noted that, “Due to the prejudice that hemp is a drug, Korean medical society has been reluctant to conduct any clinical studies that could prove the therapeutic benefits of medical hemp.” They hope that these trials will change that perception.
Hemp production in New York state’s pilot program is on the rise, with more than 60 farms and businesses joining the program this year.
And if you happen to be in New York, a Collins-based facility called Farm in Peace is now hosting educational tours to teach the public about hemp. The tours will cover everything from parts of the plant to CBD.
But in neighboring New Jersey, a federal court has ruled that businesses have the right to subject to mandatory drug testing their employees who use medical marijuana. According to the judge, “unless expressly provided for by statute, most courts have concluded that the decriminalization of medical marijuana does not shield employees from adverse employment actions.”
A new study in the journal Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research looked at how individuals are using CBD, and why they use it. The researchers found that 62% of respondents to their anonymous survey use CBD to treat a medical condition. About a third of those consumers find that CBD works very well on its own.
