This week in the United Kingdom, the Home Secretary decided to reschedule medical cannabis products. With this change, physicians will be able to prescribe cannabis-based medicines if they’ve determined that a patient has an exceptional need.
A 5-year-old girl named Brooke Adams can’t attend kindergarten because she needs medical cannabis for seizures caused by Dravet Syndrome.
According to her mother, medications containing CBD and THC are “life-saving” treatments for this severe form of epilepsy. But the Santa Rosa, California school does not allow students to use cannabis products on campus for any reason.
While the school district points to state and federal rules that prohibit cannabis on school grounds, the family’s lawyer says that the the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act require public schools to accommodate students with disabilities. These federal laws should trump the anti-cannabis regulations, according to the family.
Librede, a California-based biotechnology firm, received a patent for a method of yeast-derived CBDA production. CBDA, or cannabidiolic acid, is a chemical that naturally occurs in hemp and can be used to make CBD. This production method will provide an alternative to cannabis-derived CBD.
In Amarillo, Texas, the DEA raided a vape shop and confiscated all of its CBD oils. According to the lawyer for the Green Gorilla Vape Shop, the oils are legal because they don’t contain any THC. The DEA also confiscated $170,000 from the home of one of the shop’s owners.
On Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell submitted an amendment to the 2018 Farm Bill which is currently making its way through Congress. While the bill would make it easier to grow hemp, this amendment would bar anyone with a state or felony drug conviction from participating in the industry.
Australian medical dermatology company Botanix announced a partnership with the University Of Queensland to bring one of its products to clinical trials. The product, BTX 1801, is a CBD-based treatment designed to help with serious skin infections like methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).
Hemp became legal to grow in the state of Florida last year, and UF researchers are now set to launch a pilot program to help the state develop the industry. A $1.3 million sponsorship will fund the two-year project, as it is not being funded by the state legislature.
The St. Croix Chippewa tribe settled a lawsuit with the state of Wisconsin this week. The suit argued that the tribe did not need permission from the state to start growing hemp on their lands. With the settlement finalized, the tribe plans to begin an indoor hemp growing operation in a former fish hatchery.
A new bill was introduced to the House this week, and it’s intended to take the politics out of cannabis research. The Marijuana Data Collection Act would require the National Academy of Sciences to release a thorough report on cannabis-related topics—including its impact on public safety and health, the economy, and the criminal justice system—every two years.
On August 1st, cannabis growers in Colorado will be required to begin testing their flower for pesticides before they can sell the product. While some cultivators have already been conducting voluntary tests, the process will be a big change for most growers.
