Congratulations, Canada!
On Tuesday, Canada’s federal government passed Bill C-24, legalizing recreational cannabis sales. The vote ended our our northern neighbor’s 95 years of cannabis prohibition. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Wednesday that cannabis products will officially be legal in Canada beginning on October 17.
If you’ve ever noticed that CBD companies tend to use overseas banks to process credit card payments, that’s because domestic credit card processors view cannabis as a high-risk industry. And this week, senators blocked legislation that would have made it easier for CBD business to work with the banking industry.
On Thursday, the Senate Appropriations Committee voted 21 – 10 to stop an amendment that would have prevented federal authorities from punishing financial institutions for working with legal cannabis businesses.
Cannabis is gaining mainstream acceptance in the United States, though, according to a new survey released on Wednesday. In fact, support for legalization is at an all-time high, with 68 percent of voters in favor of ending prohibition.
Meanwhile, Arizona and Arkansas are both moving forward with industrial hemp pilot programs, while Illinois and New York look to cannabis to help fight the crisis of opioid addiction.
(Learn about how CBD may help treat chronic pain here.)
Medical cannabis producers in California are preparing for new testing requirements. Starting on July 1, all cannabis products sold in the state must be tested for potency—but that’s not all.
Terpenes, heavy metals, and mycotoxins are among other substances that companies will need to test for under the new requirements.
This will be a big change for manufacturers, but it also means that consumers of CBD and other cannabis products will be able to shop with much more confidence in the state of California.
In France, Paris authorities are investigating Cofyshop, a chain of “coffee shops” that sell products made from low-THC, high-CBD cannabis strains.
While the business says that their products meet the legal requirement of containing less than 0.2 percent THC, narcotics officers have been charged with investigating the accuracy of that claim.
And in the UK, parents of children with seizure conditions are pushing for access to cannabis-based treatment options.
After widespread outcry following the confiscation of 12-year-old Billy Caldwell’s cannabis oil, which he used to treat his epileptic seizures, officials returned the medicine last week.
Unsurprisingly, families of other children who could benefit from cannabinoid therapy want the same consideration.
