Cannabis Withdrawal: How Bad Is It Really?

If you search the internet for “cannabis withdrawal” you’ll find a few helpful articles, but mostly you’ll find drug war propaganda.

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The federal Small Business Administration (SBA) is calling on the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to make a series of changes to its proposed hemp rules that in their current form threaten to “stifle” the newly legal industry.

The agency’s independent Office of Advocacy said that while it appreciates that USDA reopened a public comment period on its Interim Final Rule for the crop, small businesses “remain deeply concerned about the impact this rule will have on their ability to legally grow hemp should the rule be finalized without any modifications.”

“The rule has already stifled the industry as many farmers have chosen not to grow hemp this year until they are certain about what the requirements are, and whether they can produce compliant crops without the risk of a total loss of their investment due to mandatory destruction of hot crops,” it said in a comment submitted on Thursday, referring to plants that exceed allowable THC limits. “In some instances, [businesses] have noted that the rules are so stringent that they feel as though they are being set up to fail.”

USDA announced it was reopening the comment period last month, citing intense demand from stakeholders who have expressed concern about a number of specific regulations. The department outlined 12 areas where it was seeking additional feedback, including several that industry representatives have identified as very consequential.

SBA subsequently sent a letter to the agency asking it to lengthen a public comment period from 30 to 60 days, but that wasn’t heeded and the feedback period closed again last week.

In its latest comment, SBA focused on five proposed rules that it hopes USDA will revise. That includes regulations concerning prescribed hemp sample collection methods, disposal requirements for so-called “hot hemp,” the 15-day harvest window and the requirement that crops be tested only by labs registered with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

“Advocacy appreciates [Agricultural Marketing Service] reopening the comment period to consider additional comments and recommendations in advance of issuing a final rule,” SBA wrote. “Advocacy is concerned that if finalized without modification the rule will inhibit small business growth. Advocacy urges AMS to give full and thorough consideration to the above issues and proposed regulatory alternatives.”

SBA’s nine-page letter suggests that USDA’s restrictive rules will benefit large businesses while forcing smaller operators out of the market.

“Because hemp is a nascent industry, it has the potential to attract new farmers provided the regulations are not so restrictive as to inhibit industry growth,” it says. “Only those businesses with adequate capital and capacity for large-scale operations would be able to survive and comply with the requirements of the rule.”

The office also released a one-page fact sheet outlining its concerns about the proposed hemp rules.

While SBA has been an advocate for hemp farmers, the same can’t be said for its position on the broader marijuana industry. For example, the agency in March that cannabis businesses are not eligible for disaster relief loans meant to lessen the blow of the coronavirus pandemic.

All told, it appears that USDA is taking seriously the feedback it’s received and may be willing to make certain accommodations on these particular policies. The department’s rule for hemp, when finalized, is set to take effect on October 31, 2021.

In July, two senators representing Oregon sent a letter to Perdue, expressing concern that hemp testing requirements that were temporarily lifted will be reinstated in the agency’s final rule. They made a series of requests for policy changes.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) wrote to Perdue in August, asking that USDA delay issuing final regulations for the crop until 2022 and allow states to continue operating under the 2014 Farm Bill hemp pilot program in the meantime.

Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO) also called on USDA to delay the implementation of proposed hemp rules, citing concerns about certain restrictive policies the federal agency has put forward in the interim proposal.

The earlier pilot program was initially set to expire on October 31, but it was extended to September 2021 through a congressional continuing resolution that the president signed late last month.

The senators weren’t alone in requesting an extension, as state agriculture departments and a major hemp industry group made a similar request to both Congress and USDA in August.

Perdue has said on several occasions that DEA influenced certain rules, adding that the narcotics agency wasn’t pleased with the overall legalization of hemp.

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, hemp industry associations pushed for farmers to be able to access to certain COVID-19 relief loans—a request that Congress granted in the most recent round of coronavirus legislation.

While USDA previously said that hemp farmers are specifically ineligible for its Coronavirus Food Assistance Program, that decision was reversed last month. While the department initially said it would not even reevaluate the crop’s eligibility based on new evidence, it removed that language shortly after Marijuana Moment reported on the exclusion.

Two members of Congress representing New York also wrote a letter to Perdue in June, asking that the agency extend access to that program to hemp farmers.

Hemp farmers approved to produce the crop do stand to benefit from other federal loan programs, however. The department released guidelines for processing loans for the industry in May.

Read SBA’s comment to USDA on its proposed hemp rules below: 

Advocacy Hemp Comment Lette… by Marijuana Moment

This article has been republished from Marijuana Moment under a content-sharing agreement. Read the original article here.

Featured image by Gina Coleman/Weedmaps

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Using CBD Oils To Battle Anxiety & Depression During COVID-19

Suffering from anxiety is natural, especially in times like these where a global pandemic has taken the world by storm

The post Using CBD Oils To Battle Anxiety & Depression During COVID-19 appeared first on The Fresh Toast.

How To Get Motivated To Run When The Weather Sucks

While the weather must definitely be accounted for, running is still possible, even when it’s cold, dark and rainy. You just have to get yourself outside.

The post How To Get Motivated To Run When The Weather Sucks appeared first on The Fresh Toast.

The two-year wait to purchase medical marijuana flower ends today in Missouri. 

After passing Amendment 2 back in 2018 by nearly a 2-1 margin, state officials worked to deliberately (and for some, too slowly) construct medical cannabis regulations and a marketplace from the ground up. After plenty of delays and months of patients calling dispensaries to ask for an opening date, the wait is finally over as N’Bliss opens dispensaries in Manchester and Ellisville today.

We spoke to Bradford Goette, CEO and managing partner of Nirvana Investments, owners and operators of N’Bliss dispensaries, to ask what patients can expect and the next steps for cannabis is Missouri. 

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. 

Weedmaps: How are you preparing for the first day of sales? 

Bradford Goette: We’re fortunate because we opened as a CBD store, so we actually have a front-end retail environment in these two particular locations that have been open to the general public since June and August. And then our medical marijuana facility will be open only to medical marijuana cardholders in Missouri once we have flower. 

Part of our preparation was having the retail open, being able to engage customers that are coming in, answer their questions, learn how to scan items, and work in a cash environment. We’re fortunate to have been out in front. 

WM: What are you expecting on opening day?  What’s the temperature of the staff and patients?

BG: The temperature is running really hot. People are extremely excited. It starts with our wellness specialist and all the people who have been with us on this journey for so long. We know that those medical [marijuana] cardholders have been waiting for over a year and a half for their opportunity to purchase legalized flower in the state of Missouri. 

Based on our web traffic, as we’ve drawn closer, we’ve seen almost 2,000 people sign up to find out when we’ll have flower. Between that [web traffic] and the general in-store traffic that we’ve had from being open for so long, people are ready and excited. We’re expecting lines and energy to be strong. 

WM: What can patients in Missouri expect in the first days and weeks of legal sales? 

It’s going to be a very slow roll, like many states that have gone before us experienced, until the supply chain catches up with demand. Because the number of cultivators through commencement, processing, and harvest is very low, but increasing everyday. There’s two testing labs, one in St. Louis and one in Kansas City. Obviously patient safety in the roll out is paramount and tied to [testing labs]. It delays some things a bit, but for all the right reasons. 

So what patients will see in Missouri is that we’ll start out with flower. And then over time, as we get into the new year, you’ll start to see different product lines develop. We have a manufacturing lab, so we’ll be doing vape carts, tinctures, edibles, and gummies. But that’s going to be a little down the road. 

Specific to us, patients can expect that we’ll be maintaining everybodys’ health and wellness. We have a full protocol based on the pandemic. We’ll put people through with masks and temperature taking and sanitation of everything. We have one-on-one experiences with our wellness specialists and patients based on capacity. We don’t want people to feel rushed, they should really take their time. It’s new to so many people, they should have the ultimate experience. 

WM: What are Missouri’s ambitions for medical cannabis? Or cannabis at large? 

I think the best summary of the state’s ambitions is when the voters in Missouri, over a year and a half ago, voted in Amendment 2 with more than 65% of the vote. The people want cannabis. That’s where it all really begins, in my mind. There’s an energy for the medicine, for the plant to make people’s lives better. If you look at Missouri as a whole, our opioid epidemic, like much of the country, is high. Higher than it needs to be. I think what this medicine and this plant will be able to provide for so many is what drives the willingness to support it.

As you look longer term, it’s the natural evolution. Once [medical cannabis] is successful and off the ground, people will have the energy for what’s next for cannabis. And that’s a complete adult use market like the 11 states that are currently in that position. We’ll see that probably sooner than later. 

Featured image by Gina Coleman/Weedmaps

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Does Billie Eilish Smoke Weed?

This Gen Z superstar is trending for being body shamed by a Twitter troll. But we’re more interested in whether or not she enjoys marijuana.

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Far More Potent Than THC And CBD: Dr. Raphael Mechoulam Explains His Latest Discovery

Also known as the “father of cannabis research,” Mechoulam revealed his latest discovery, cannabidiolic acid methyl ester (EPM301), only a few months ago.

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The governor of Pennsylvania is at it again, delivering yet another speech on Tuesday about the need to legalize marijuana in the state.

For someone who just last year came out in favor of the policy change himself, Gov. Tom Wolf’s (D) repeated criticism of the Republican-controlled state legislature for failing to enact cannabis legalization in the months since is notable.

In what has now become a monthly series of press appearances focused on legalization, the governor has stressed that marijuana reform could generate tax revenue to support the state’s economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic and that ending criminalization is necessary for social justice.

“There’s much more that needs to be done to reverse the decades of injustice, and we need to start by decriminalizing cannabis and legalizing it for adult use,” he said at Tuesday’s event, which also featured remarks from Rep. Maureen Madden (D) and a local hemp farmer. “The majority of Pennsylvanians support legalizing cannabis for adult use, and it’s a needed step toward restorative justice.”

“It would provide the economic benefits during a time of great economic strain. All these things are good, positive steps for Pennsylvania,” he added. “Legalizing cannabis will open up another untapped industry in Pennsylvania, one with the potential to bring in millions, actually billions, of dollars of revenue as we’ve seen in other states.”

This marks the third month in a row that Wolf has held events focused on making the case for legalization. Last month, he took a dig at the Republican-controlled legislature for failing to act on reform in the previous session. And in August, he suggested that the state itself could potentially control marijuana sales rather than just license private retailers as other legalized jurisdictions have done.

“We need the economic growth, we need the revenue and we need the restorative justice that the legalization of adult-use cannabis will provide,” he said on Tuesday. “So once again, my third call to the General Assembly to send legislation to my desk to legalize cannabis for adult use. It’s what Pennsylvania wants. It’s what Pennsylvania needs.”

Lt. Gov. John Fetterman (D), a longstanding legalization advocate, has been similarly vocal about his position. In speeches and on social media, the official has expressed frustration that Pennsylvania has yet to enact the policy change, especially as neighboring like New Jersey are moving in that direction.

He said last month that farmers in his state can grow better marijuana than people in New Jersey—and that’s one reason why Pennsylvania should expeditiously legalize cannabis before voters next door in the Garden State enact the policy change this November.

Fetterman also recently hosted a virtual forum where he got advice on how to effectively implement a cannabis system from the lieutenant governors of Illinois and Michigan, which have enacted legalization.

While Wolf initially opposed adult-use legalization, he came out in support of the reform last year after Fetterman led a statewide listening tour last year to solicit public input on the issue.

Shortly after the governor announced that he was embracing the policy change, a lawmaker filed a bill to legalize marijuana through a state-run model.

A majority of Senate Democrats sent Wolf a letter in July arguing that legislators should pursue the policy change in order to generate revenue to make up for losses resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to an outline of the governor’s legalization proposal, 50 percent of that tax revenue “would be earmarked for historically disadvantaged businesses.” And he said on Tuesday that additional revenue could be given directly to small businesses that have been impacted by the pandemic.

This article has been republished from Marijuana Moment under a content-sharing agreement. Read the original article here.

Featured image by Gina Coleman/Weedmaps

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Supporters of the bill say that barring people with a history in the illicit cannabis industry from joining legally supports unregulated cannabis operations.

A new survey shows that more MS patients are using cannabis to cope with their illness.