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News Briefs – June 10, 2019

June 10, 2019

California Bill Would Ban the Sale of Single-Use Tobacco Products

Legislation establishing a comprehensive tobacco waste reduction program passed off the California Senate floor recently in a 25 to 9 vote.

Senate Bill 424 addresses tobacco waste by banning the sale of single-use tobacco products and requiring multiuse tobacco products to be recyclable or collected for take-back by tobacco product manufacturers. Under the bill, manufacturers may form a stewardship organization to take back multi-use tobacco products.

“It is time for the tobacco industry to take responsibility for the lifecycle of their products and do their part to reduce their environmental impacts,” said the bill’s sponsor Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson in a statement.

Church of England backs medicinal cannabis

The emerging world of cannabis investment has been given a green light from an unlikely source: the Church of England.

Edward Mason, head of responsible investment at the Church Commissioners, said: “We make a distinction between recreational cannabis and medicinal cannabis. We are content with it being used for proper medicinal purposes.”

Alaska Proposes Rules for Hemp Program

The state of Alaska has proposed regulations for an industrial hemp pilot program.

As reported by the Associate Press, a state law passed last year authorized the creation of a program to study the growth, cultivation or marketing of industrial hemp.

Anchorage TV station KTVA reports staff at the state Plant Materials Center planted six different strains for the first phase. Center director Rob Carter says because hemp has been illegal, there isn’t a lot of research showing what varieties grow well.
Hemp is related to marijuana but has just trace amounts of THC, the chemical found in marijuana that produces a high.

Chris and Ember Haynes, who own Denali Hemp Company in Talkeetna, get their hemp seed oil ingredients from Colorado since it’s illegal to grow plants. They hope to participate in the pilot program.

FDA: ‘Influencers’ Promoted Vaping Without Suitable Warnings

U.S. regulators moved to discipline vaping companies for inappropriately promoting their flavored nicotine formulas through so-called influencers on Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites.

The Food and Drug Administration sent warning letters last Friday to four companies — Solace Vapor, Hype City Vapors, Humble Juice Co. and Artist Liquid Labs, they claim used paid social media influencers to pitch nicotine solutions to their online followers, including flavors like Watermelon Patch and Strawberry Kiwi. The issue stemmed from the posts not including a mandatory warning that the vaping liquids contain nicotine, which is addictive.

Retailers in Louisiana Required To Apply to Sell CBD Products

Applications for retailers in Lousiana who want to sell CBD (Cannabidiol) products will be available on June 17.

Lawmakers passed a regulatory structure for the products that was signed by Gov. John Bel Edwards last Thursday.

Retailers will be required to get a permit through ATC and meet a long list of requirements to sell any products containing CBD.
The bill passed by the Louisiana legislature legalized the production of industrial hemp and ended any questions as to whether CBD products can be sold in the state.

Cannabis Prosecutions Possible in Nevada

Nevada US Attorney Nicholas Trutanich says that while marijuana isn’t his office’s focus, the prosecution of those doing business in the cannabis industry isn’t off the table.

In an interview with the Reno Gazette Journal, Trutanich said, “Marijuana remains illegal under federal law, and my job is to enforce federal law. Nevada is not safe with marijuana at every corner.”

Nevada state laws supersedes local city ordinances.

Cannabis Use by Seniors at an All-Time High

Cannabis use among seniors in the U.S. rose tenfold over a decade as more baby boomersuse it to treat a range of ailments, including pain, anxiety and depression, according to a University of Colorado study, CNBC reports.

Some 3.7% of U.S. adults age 65 or older used cannabis in the past year, a more than tenfold increase from 0.3% in 2007, data from the National Survey of Drug Use and Health showed. In 2017, 9.4% of adults ages 60 to 64 reported using marijuana in the past year, up from 1.9% 10 years earlier.

Many study participants said they chose to purchase cannabis from recreational dispensaries because of a reluctance to ask their doctors for a medical marijuana card or because they would have to leave their health insurance network to find another provider that would give them a card.

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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.

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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?

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