News Briefs: August 5, 2019

By
HeadQuest

FDA Warns CBD May Overpromise and Underdeliver

The FDA’s recent warning to CuraLeaf regarding unsubstantiated medical claims about CBD’s health benefits spotlights an ongoing issue about CBD products: Many claims about CBD-based treatments are unproven.

While CBD products have proliferated and experts agree there seems to be little direct risk to using CBD, consumers should know that the science still has a long way to go, according to Dr. Morton Tavel, a clinical professor emeritus of medicine at Indiana University School of Medicine.

Read More

 

Juul Launches ‘Smart’ E-Cigarette

Juul has just released a new e-cigarette which will monitor its user data, including when and where they vape, reports The Financial Times. In order to use the device, which is linked to an app on users’ smartphones, customers will have to go through stringent age verification and two-step background check with third-party databases. Juul’s C1 will also allow users to monitor how many puffs they take a day, as well as locate their vape if they lose it. It also has an auto-lock option that means the e-cigarette can be locked when out of the phone’s range in order to prevent others using it.

Read More

 

Cannabis Advertising Needs Educational Component

One of the biggest challenges for cannabis communication agencies is finding creative ways to advertise while at the same time educating the audience, whether it be the difference between THC and CBD, or where the plant is legal, or what investors need to consider when looking at cannabis. From a mass communications perspective, major players in cannabis are still largely uninformed, including physicians and consumers.

Read More

 

Colorado Doctors Allowed to Recommend Marijuana Instead of Opioids

A new law in Colorado allows doctors to prescribe patients medical marijuana instead of traditionally prescribed opiates for any condition as the state seeks to battle the opiate addiction crisis.

The law allows patients to choose medical marijuana as an alternative prescription for any diagnosis that would normally result in a prescription of an opioid-based medication.

Read More

 

Is Your Throat Sore? Vaping May Be to Blame

According to research published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, when people vape, a chemical reaction forms as a vanilla flavoring chemical called “vanillin” mixes with nicotine and glycerols to form acetals which can irritate the nose and throat. High or repeated exposure to acetal can cause headache, dizziness and drowsiness. While the chemical vanillin is used for vanilla flavoring in many e-cigarette flavorings, it is banned in tobacco cigarettes.

Read More

 

Emerging Regs for Cannabis Ads Include Prior Approval

As states legalize cannabis for medical and recreational use, some states, such as New York, Pennsylvania, and Nevada, require pre-approval by government agencies including the Department of Health. Billboard operators say prior approval has not caused problems; some managers appreciate the government sign-off.

One eventuallity may be self-regulation as has been adopted for liqour ads by the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States.

Read More

 

Texas Cops Told Not to Arrest in Low-Level Cannabis Cases

A memo obtained by The Texas Tribune instructs DPS officers to cite and release suspects in misdemeanor marijuana cases “as appropriate.” Officials said the goal is to continue enforcement even though some prosecutors aren’t taking new marijuana cases.

The difficulty arises from the fact that lab testing to differentiate between now-legal hemp and illegal marijuana is not currently available in government crime labs.

Read More

Recent Stories

Recent Articles

CBD 3
By
Jimmy Wohl
Lung, Tongue, and Skin
I went home and told my girlfriend, who, after Googling the name of the business I bought it from, told me that, yes, it was technically weed. But it was CBD. She started laughing, telling me I had been ripped off.
banking 2
By
Joe Reefer
High Risk, High Cash: The Banking Struggles of Legal Cannabis
State-sanctioned medical and recreational cannabis programs benefit the average user in many ways. Still, they remain a double-edged sword for dispensary owners, greenhouse growers, and others who earn their living from the cannabis industry. There are plenty of profits to be had, sure, but how exactly are you expected to secure your cash or process electronic transactions when banks refuse to work with you?
WIC 2
By
Emily Long
Women in Cannabis – Aubrey Amatelli
Aubrey Amatelli wants to help dispensaries and cannabis retailers navigate one of the toughest parts of the industry: money. When the company she worked for right out of grad school was acquired by JPMorgan, Aubrey entered the complex world of payments and has stayed there for her entire career.
MJ 1
By
Matt Weeks
Building the Best: How the MJBizCon Gets Made
There’s a paradox to business conferences. The best ones manage to swing from buttoned down to wildly unscripted—sometimes seconds apart. For attendees, it’s the combination of personal connections and professional development that makes regular trips to conferences worthwhile. And in an industry like this one, pulling that off is harder than it looks.
staffing 1
By
Karen Maina
Staff Your Shop And Build Your Tribe
Your shop is not only a smoke shop; It's also a hangout spot and a community hub. It is a place where the regulars know your staff by name, and your staff knows what the regulars need. That's the secret sauce that the big-box chains can't replicate, and it starts with who you put behind the counter. A well-staffed smoke shop is an operational strategy, but it's also a community. In lean economic times, that community is what keeps the lights on. When people feel like your shop is their spot, they don't stop coming in when money's tight. They prioritize it. It all starts with Hiring.
2026-06-01_20-59-01
By
Emily Long
Women in Cannabis – Dr. Chanda Macias
Dr. Macias first fell in love with science while studying at Howard University, where she completed her undergraduate studies and later earned her PhD in cellular and molecular biology. While at Howard, she became especially interested in cancer research due to personal ties. Growing up in a Creole family and predominantly Black community in Louisiana, Dr. Macias watched many women around her battle breast cancer, so at Howard, she decided to focus her research on the BRCA1 gene.
2026-06-01_20-45-52
By
Matt Weeks
Cards Denied: Smoke Shops, Dispensaries, and the Paradox of Modern Banking
It’s almost amazing that the same institutions that brought us the 2008 financial crisis have a problem with selling glass pipes. Almost. The truth is that an industry's past sins are only held against it when the money isn’t right. Big banks were willing to risk cratering the U.S. housing market because the profits were too good to ignore. But the cannabis industry rolls a different kind of paper, so instead of a slap on the wrist, it gets a surcharge.
2026-06-01_20-34-44
By
Karen Maina
Print Lives! Why Flyers and Posters Still Work
Smokeshop and counterculture enthusiasts enjoy discovery as part of the experience. Customers enjoy browsing. When they walk into a shop, they don't simply grab a product and leave. They look for something new. This is the main reason flyers and posters still work. Smokeshops and dispensaries are highly visual environments. You want to see bold artwork, psychedelic graphics, and street-style posters that naturally capture attention.