The Laws And Regulations On Hemp CBD In All 50 States

Though the FDA is a federal agency, its policies have a significant impact on the states.

The post The Laws And Regulations On Hemp CBD In All 50 States appeared first on The Fresh Toast.

Image via

Oregon could see a massive reduction in racially disproportionate drug possession arrests if voters approve a decriminalization ballot measure this fall, according to a new report by state justice officials.

This year, Beaver State drug reform advocates overcame extreme difficulties imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic and managed to get two progressive drug reform measures on this year’s state election ballot. Thanks to their valiant efforts, Oregon will vote on two separate measures in November – one to legalize psilocybin-assisted therapy and another that would decriminalize minor possession of all illegal drugs.

Ahead of the election, state officials have prepared reports predicting what would happen if these ballot measures pass. As part of this process, the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission was tasked with analyzing the ramifications of the drug decriminalization initiative. If passed, this measure would prevent police from arresting any Oregonian for minor possession or use of any drug.

The commission predicts that approval of the measure would reduce felony and misdemeanor drug possession convictions by 91 percent across the board. According to the analysis, this reduction would be “substantial for all racial groups, ranging from 82.9% for Asian Oregonians to approximately 94% for Native American and Black Oregonians,” Marijuana Moment reports. Overall, this would reduce racially disproportionate drug possession arrests in the state by an incredible 95 percent.

The report notes that racial “disparities can exist at different stages of the criminal justice process, including inequities in police stops, jail bookings, bail, pretrial detention, prosecutorial decisions, and others.” Unfortunately, the committee said they did not have enough data to provide specific estimates on how decriminalization could improve each of these categories.

Still, the report concludes that the massive decrease in convictions “will result in fewer collateral consequences stemming from criminal justice system involvement, which include difficulties in finding employment, loss of access to student loans for education, difficulties in obtaining housing, restrictions on professional licensing, and others.”

In a separate report, the Financial Estimate Committee has analyzed the financial costs and benefits of enacting these two initiatives. The drug decriminalization measure also includes a massive investment in drug treatment funding for the state, which is predicted to cost around $57 million per year. The measure would use the state’s ample cannabis tax revenue to cover these expenses, which should be no problem, considering that weed tax revenue is expected to hit $182 million between 2021 and 2023.

The decriminalization measure would also save money by decreasing law enforcement costs. “These savings are estimated at $0.3 million in 2019-21 and $24.5 million in 2021-23,” the report predicts. “The savings are expected to increase beyond the 2021-23 biennium.”

The financial committee also estimated the cost of the psilocybin initiative at $5.4 million during its two-year startup period. During this initial period, officials will be drafting regulations on the safety and efficacy of psilocybin-based treatments. After this process is complete, any adult in the state “would be allowed to purchase, possess, consume, and experience the effects of psilocybin only at a licensed psilocybin service center during a psilocybin administration session with a licensed psilocybin service facilitator.”

Once the program is underway, the report estimates that it will cost the state $3.1 million a year, but these costs will be completely covered by fees and taxes imposed on legal psilocybin producers and retailers. 

Sam Chapman, campaign manager for the psilocybin initiative, told Marijuana Moment that he was glad that the report highlighted the “regulations and safeguards that are built into the measure.” Chapman added that his group felt that the financial committee also “saw and respected our approach to keep the psilocybin therapy program revenue neutral once up and running.”

All in all, these reports conclude that the two measures would bring massive social justice and health benefits to Oregon without adding an undue financial burden to taxpayers. Hopefully, these reports will help sway voters in favor of approving these comprehensive drug reform measures.

Image via

A U.S. Army veteran sentenced to life without parole for selling less than $30 worth of marijuana has been resentenced to time served and is slated to be released after serving nine years. 

In 2008, Louisiana resident Derek Harris was busted for selling 0.69 grams of weed to an undercover officer who came to his door asking to buy it. Initially, Harris got 15 years — a travesty in itself — and then fell victim in 2012 to the state’s draconian Habitual Offender Law.

That sick and sadistic legal code empowers judges to resentence inmates who have prior records. As a result, Derek Harris ended up condemned to life in prison without the possibility of parole. 

Last month, attorneys from The Promise of Justice Initiative (PJI) argued before the Louisiana Supreme Court that Harris had been improperly sentenced, citing ineffective legal counseling — specifically that Harris’s lawyer remained silent while he was given a mandatory minimum sentence that “shocks the conscience.”

The court agreed. This past Thursday, the Vermillion Parish District Attorney’s office resentenced Harris to time served and, after nine years behind bars, he will walk free.

The court’s decision will not only liberate Harris, it also defies and seriously weakens a 1996 ruling that prohibited inmates from legally fighting their “post-conviction” penalties. In a statement, the PJI wrote, “Mr. Harris’s resentencing gives hope to many others around the state who have unjustly suffered under the Habitual Offender Law, and will now be able to challenge their sentences post-conviction.”

All but one member of the Louisiana Supreme Court voted to allow Harris a new hearing. In his majority opinion, Chief Justice John Weimer wrote that Harris “developed a substance abuse problem after returning from his honorable military service in Desert Storm, and his prior offenses were nonviolent and related to his untreated dependency on drugs.”

Cormac Boyle, a PJI attorney who represents Harris, pointed out that the Habitual Offender Law disproportionately targets Black defendants and, following this case, he hopes it will be reconsidered.

“It is certainly time for Louisiana to rethink how it uses the Habitual Offender Law,” Boyle said. “While in theory such a law may be fine, in practice it perpetuates and exposes some of the worst aspects of the criminal justice system.”

What Is Havening And Why Are Anxious People Trying It?

While there are plenty of effective ways to treat low levels of anxiety, havening is a new technique that’s been popping up more and more.

The post What Is Havening And Why Are Anxious People Trying It? appeared first on The Fresh Toast.

A new cannabinoid has been discovered, and the ramifications could be massive. Scientists funded by the UNIHEMP research project have discovered a new psychoactive molecule: Δ⁹-Tetrahydrocannabiphorol, or THCP; and they believe that there are great scientific implications for the phytocannabinoid. 

Phytocannabinoids are cannabinoid molecules that are specifically produced by plants. There are several types of cannabinoids, including endocannabinoids, synthetic cannabinoids, and phytocannabinoids. 

Endocannabinoids are compounds that are produced within the body by an organism’s endocannabinoid system; and synthetic cannabinoids are man-made chemicals that cannot be found in nature. Phytocannabinoids, on the other hand, are a different beast altogether. They are those that naturally occur in plants and are found in a variety, including echinacea. However, the plant species in which phytocannabinoids are most prominent is cannabis.

Because of cannabis’ status as a Schedule I controlled substance in the US, there are several barriers that prohibit the scientific study of the plant and its constituents. Thus, a considerable portion of cannabis research takes place abroad. Many clinical and laboratory studies of cannabis take place in Israel and Canada, where there is federal research funding to support this work; but, the newly discovered THCP was characterized by a group of Italian scientists.

Unlike the US, government funding for cannabis research is relatively commonplace in Europe. The discovery of THCP was enabled by the UNIHEMP project, which is sponsored by the European Regional Development Fund. A multi-disciplinary team of Italian scientists was responsible for the discovery of this novel cannabinoid, led by Giuseppe Cannazza of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia.

The researchers’ findings were published in late 2019 in the journal Nature.

THCP is 33-times more active than THC

Throughout the duration of the project, the group studied a medicinal cannabis cultivar, dubbed FM2, which was supplied by the Military Chemical Pharmaceutical Institute in Florence. Using a variety of scientific characterization techniques, the researchers observed two novel cannabinoids, THCP and CBDP, and isolated them from other cannabinoids that were present. Following this discovery, the group artificially synthesized THCP and CBDP to create reference materials, and the synthesized versions were successfully used to verify the natural expression of the two cannabinoids in the FM2 cultivar.     

After the confirmation of the identity of the two cannabinoids, the group turned its focus to THCP. To study the compound, they pursued an in vitro experiment with cultured cells. This experiment tested the binding affinity of THCP with CB₁ and CB₂ receptors, using synthetic cannabinoids as reference materials. It was shown that, when comparing THCP-related results to the previously reported data of other cannabinoids against the CB₁ receptor, THCP is 33-times more active than delta-9 THC. 

This finding is critical because the group also found that the chemical was present in FM2 at 0.0029%, whereas THC was found to be expressed at 3.9%; so, even in smaller amounts, THCP is more active than THC.

They also tested the cannabimimetic activity of the molecule. Cannabimimetic activity is a measure of how well a substance replicates the effects of more well-characterized cannabinoids which bind to the CB₁ receptor. An in vivo experiment involving mice was performed. Herein, the influence of THCP on body temperature, spontaneous activity, immobility, and pain was determined — the results of these tests confirmed that THCP acts similarly to other cannabinoids like delta-9 THC.

Will THCP be important?

According to the study, even at lower doses, THCP has more cannabimimetic activity than THC. Further, the group posits that THCP could account for the wide variability of patient responses in cannabis-based therapies, even amongst cultivars with equal THC doses. This means  that cannabis’  psychotropic effects, which the scientific community attributes to THC, may actually be due to the presence of THCP. 

Unfortunately, none of the original researchers could be reached for comment. However, experts in the field do have varying opinions regarding the study. Dr. Cecilia J. Hillard of the Medical College of Wisconsin said, “I think it is well designed.” She goes on, “[The study] has two important gaps, in my opinion. First, they should have compared the in vivo effects of THCP to that of THC ‘head to head’ so that relative potencies could be assessed. Second, I would like to know whether THCP has greater efficacy to activate the [CB₁ receptor] in particular. THC is relatively safe because it has low efficacy at the receptor. If THCP has high efficacy (like the synthetic analogs that have also increased the tail length), it is a more concerning finding, as it would suggest that strains making a lot of THCP could be more dangerous to use than those that do not.” 

Expanding on how THCP could be more dangerous, Hillard continued, “The so-called ‘spice’ compounds are synthetic agonists of the CB₁ receptor. They are full agonists, meaning that they are very strong activators of the CB₁ receptor. Compared to THC, these drugs have significant adverse effects and produce significant dependence (addiction). So, my issue is that we do not know yet whether THCP is like THC, a partial agonist, or like the synthetic compounds, a full agonist. And my concern is that, if it is the latter, cannabis strains high in THCP will have more adverse effects than those that are low.”

Dr. Samuel Banister of The University of Sydney states, “[The study] was well designed and executed,” concurring with Dr. Hillard. However, he goes on to disagree with the group’s assessment that THCP may account for the variability of psychotropic effects across various cannabis cultivars: “While this possibility cannot be ruled out, the known potency differences for THC and THCP at cannabinoid receptors is relatively small, while the difference in abundance of each in cannabis is enormous. The same is true of CBD and CBDP, although CBD requires even higher doses to achieve many of its pharmacological effects. For this reason, I do not feel that minor or trace phytocannabinoids like THCP or CBDP contribute significantly to the psychoactive effects of different cannabis strains.” 

How this novel cannabinoid plays out in both medical and recreational use is yet to be determined, as much more research is needed. Nonetheless, this new evidence suggests that analytical laboratories in US regulated markets may need to expand their testing panel to include THCP.

Featured graphic by David Lozada/Weedmaps

The post An in-depth look at the study that discovered THCP, a cannabinoid more potent than THC appeared first on Weedmaps News.

A new cannabinoid has been discovered, and the ramifications could be massive. Scientists funded by the UNIHEMP research project have discovered a new psychoactive molecule: Δ⁹-Tetrahydrocannabiphorol, or THCP; and they believe that there are great scientific implications for the phytocannabinoid. 

Phytocannabinoids are cannabinoid molecules that are specifically produced by plants. There are several types of cannabinoids, including endocannabinoids, synthetic cannabinoids, and phytocannabinoids. 

Endocannabinoids are compounds that are produced within the body by an organism’s endocannabinoid system; and synthetic cannabinoids are man-made chemicals that cannot be found in nature. Phytocannabinoids, on the other hand, are a different beast altogether. They are those that naturally occur in plants and are found in a variety, including echinacea. However, the plant species in which phytocannabinoids are most prominent is cannabis.

Because of cannabis’ status as a Schedule I controlled substance in the US, there are several barriers that prohibit the scientific study of the plant and its constituents. Thus, a considerable portion of cannabis research takes place abroad. Many clinical and laboratory studies of cannabis take place in Israel and Canada, where there is federal research funding to support this work; but, the newly discovered THCP was characterized by a group of Italian scientists.

Unlike the US, government funding for cannabis research is relatively commonplace in Europe. The discovery of THCP was enabled by the UNIHEMP project, which is sponsored by the European Regional Development Fund. A multi-disciplinary team of Italian scientists was responsible for the discovery of this novel cannabinoid, led by Giuseppe Cannazza of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia.

The researchers’ findings were published in late 2019 in the journal Nature.

THCP is 33-times more active than THC

Throughout the duration of the project, the group studied a medicinal cannabis cultivar, dubbed FM2, which was supplied by the Military Chemical Pharmaceutical Institute in Florence. Using a variety of scientific characterization techniques, the researchers observed two novel cannabinoids, THCP and CBDP, and isolated them from other cannabinoids that were present. Following this discovery, the group artificially synthesized THCP and CBDP to create reference materials, and the synthesized versions were successfully used to verify the natural expression of the two cannabinoids in the FM2 cultivar.     

After the confirmation of the identity of the two cannabinoids, the group turned its focus to THCP. To study the compound, they pursued an in vitro experiment with cultured cells. This experiment tested the binding affinity of THCP with CB₁ and CB₂ receptors, using synthetic cannabinoids as reference materials. It was shown that, when comparing THCP-related results to the previously reported data of other cannabinoids against the CB₁ receptor, THCP is 33-times more active than delta-9 THC. 

This finding is critical because the group also found that the chemical was present in FM2 at 0.0029%, whereas THC was found to be expressed at 3.9%; so, even in smaller amounts, THCP is more active than THC.

They also tested the cannabimimetic activity of the molecule. Cannabimimetic activity is a measure of how well a substance replicates the effects of more well-characterized cannabinoids which bind to the CB₁ receptor. An in vivo experiment involving mice was performed. Herein, the influence of THCP on body temperature, spontaneous activity, immobility, and pain was determined — the results of these tests confirmed that THCP acts similarly to other cannabinoids like delta-9 THC.

Will THCP be important?

According to the study, even at lower doses, THCP has more cannabimimetic activity than THC. Further, the group posits that THCP could account for the wide variability of patient responses in cannabis-based therapies, even amongst cultivars with equal THC doses. This means  that cannabis’  psychotropic effects, which the scientific community attributes to THC, may actually be due to the presence of THCP. 

Unfortunately, none of the original researchers could be reached for comment. However, experts in the field do have varying opinions regarding the study. Dr. Cecilia J. Hillard of the Medical College of Wisconsin said, “I think it is well designed.” She goes on, “[The study] has two important gaps, in my opinion. First, they should have compared the in vivo effects of THCP to that of THC ‘head to head’ so that relative potencies could be assessed. Second, I would like to know whether THCP has greater efficacy to activate the [CB₁ receptor] in particular. THC is relatively safe because it has low efficacy at the receptor. If THCP has high efficacy (like the synthetic analogs that have also increased the tail length), it is a more concerning finding, as it would suggest that strains making a lot of THCP could be more dangerous to use than those that do not.” 

Expanding on how THCP could be more dangerous, Hillard continued, “The so-called ‘spice’ compounds are synthetic agonists of the CB₁ receptor. They are full agonists, meaning that they are very strong activators of the CB₁ receptor. Compared to THC, these drugs have significant adverse effects and produce significant dependence (addiction). So, my issue is that we do not know yet whether THCP is like THC, a partial agonist, or like the synthetic compounds, a full agonist. And my concern is that, if it is the latter, cannabis strains high in THCP will have more adverse effects than those that are low.”

Dr. Samuel Banister of The University of Sydney states, “[The study] was well designed and executed,” concurring with Dr. Hillard. However, he goes on to disagree with the group’s assessment that THCP may account for the variability of psychotropic effects across various cannabis cultivars: “While this possibility cannot be ruled out, the known potency differences for THC and THCP at cannabinoid receptors is relatively small, while the difference in abundance of each in cannabis is enormous. The same is true of CBD and CBDP, although CBD requires even higher doses to achieve many of its pharmacological effects. For this reason, I do not feel that minor or trace phytocannabinoids like THCP or CBDP contribute significantly to the psychoactive effects of different cannabis strains.” 

How this novel cannabinoid plays out in both medical and recreational use is yet to be determined, as much more research is needed. Nonetheless, this new evidence suggests that analytical laboratories in US regulated markets may need to expand their testing panel to include THCP.

Featured graphic by David Lozada/Weedmaps

The post An in-depth look at the study that discovered THCP, a cannabinoid more potent than THC appeared first on Weedmaps News.

Probability Of Legal Marijuana Already Upsetting Arizona Lawmakers

A new adversary with a powerful position has emerged — Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey.

The post Probability Of Legal Marijuana Already Upsetting Arizona Lawmakers appeared first on The Fresh Toast.

Types Of Marijuana Known To Ease A Hangover

There is evidence that marijuana can help squash those pesky hangovers. But it’s crucial to select the appropriate strain.

The post Types Of Marijuana Known To Ease A Hangover appeared first on The Fresh Toast.

5 Thing You Can Do To Make Your Weeks Run Smoother

A bad Monday can easily translate into a bad Tuesday.

The post 5 Thing You Can Do To Make Your Weeks Run Smoother appeared first on The Fresh Toast.

Mike Tyson Will Print (Yes, Print) Cannabis Beverages

Just when you thought you’d seen every cannabis product imaginable, from CBD pillows to weed hummus, Mike Tyson is coming in with a surprise jab.

The post Mike Tyson Will Print (Yes, Print) Cannabis Beverages appeared first on The Fresh Toast.