CBD Manufacturers Need Better Testing 

‘Clean’, ‘safe’, ‘natural’, or ‘pure’ CBD are pivotal selling points for many CBD brands. However, these buzz words are meaningless without the evidence to support such claims. The CBD industry’s peer-reviewed watchdog Leafreport recently undertook a review of 2946 products from 136 brands to verify how many were being tested by third-party facilities for purity or potency. One of the key findings of the report was that only 13% of CBD companies tested almost all of their products for detectable levels of contaminants such as heavy metals, pesticides, or microbial content. But 25% didn’t test any of their products for purity at all. 84% of the products tested were also found to be outside the limits of acceptable 10% variance regarding concentration of CBD as stated on the product label. Another finding revealed that brands offering 7 products or less were more likely to test most of their products for both potency and purity, as opposed to brands with over 40 products.  

Majority Believe Cannabis Can Make the World Better 

A total of 37 states and the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands have approved comprehensive, publicly available medical cannabis programs. According to YouGov, people’s cannabis preferences vary by region: 

• The Northeast is the most likely (64%) to consume cannabis for anxiety/stress relief. 
• People in the South and West Coast consume cannabis for social occasions more than the rest of the country. 
• The South is more likely (32%) to consume cannabis for intimacy than the rest of the country. 

• The Midwest (61%) is consuming edibles and beverages more than the rest of America. 
• 74% of Midwestern consumers, and 64% of all cannabis consumers, believe if more people embraced cannabis, the world would be a better place. 

Americans are ‘So #@$%ing Ready’ for Ordinary Moments 

As COVID-19 restrictions continue to lift, Groupon surveyed more than 2,000 people across the U.S. and not surprisingly found that the majority (71%) of Americans are ‘So #@$%ing Ready’ to get back to their everyday lives. Another 74% said they will never take ordinary experiences such as eating at a restaurant, getting a haircut outside of their garage, going to the movies or taking a group fitness class for granted ever again. And this bodes well for local economies as nearly 60% of total respondents said they are more inclined to support small businesses than they were prior to the pandemic.’ 

Is Fourth Time the Charm for Cannabis Banking Act? 

“People (in states and localities across the country) are voting to approve some level of cannabis use, and we need these cannabis businesses and employees to have access to checking accounts, payroll accounts, lines of credit, credit cards and more,” Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO) said in mid-April on the House floor, as the US House of Representatives approved a long-awaited bill to protect banks that service legitimate cannabis businesses and direct federal regulators to craft rules for how they would supervise such banking activity. 

The vote marks the fourth time the House has approved the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act. At no point did the measure move forward in the Senate under Republican control last session. Supporters — who voted 321-101 to approve the bill — are hopeful for passage of the ACT to empower the cannabis industry to move into mainstream business practices. 

USPS on Lookout for Vapes, THC Products 

The “Preventing Online Sales of E-Cigarettes to Children Act” (effective April 5, 2021) prohibits the USPS from shipping vaping products. FedEx and UPS already have said they will follow the U.S. Postal Service’s directive and won’t ship vaping products. 

The Postal Service added a pointed reminder that it is free to enforce federal marijuana prohibition and that products containing any THC can’t be mailed. 

The agency also gave hemp shippers a reminder that, “Mailers must retain, and prepare to make available upon request, records establishing compliance with all applicable federal, state, and local laws pertaining to hemp production, processing, distribution, and sales.” 

Vape Pods are becoming the New Cigarette Butts 

Nicotine, including nicotine salt, is listed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as an acute hazardous waste. It’s no wonder then that discarded vaping items have led to an uptick in accidental nicotine poisoning. The Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Center reported almost 250 such calls from 2013 to 2018 — of which more than half involved children younger than 5. According to most authorities, the proper disposal of vape cartridges requires removing the filler material, rinsing it under running water until all nicotine residues are removed, then wrapping it in a scrap of biodegradable material. The cartridge itself should be similarly rinsed and then sealed with its original plug. Only then can it all be discarded as you would any other plastic waste.