News Briefs: September 16, 2019

By
HeadQuest

Black Market Leading Cali Cannabis Sales

This past week, per the Los Angeles Times, the United Cannabis Business Association (UCBA) turned in the findings of an audit on illicit and legal operating cannabis stores to Gov. Gavin Newsom (D- Calif.) that was gathered with the aid of online website WeedMaps. The audit showed that there were 3,757 listings for a marijuana dispensary or cannabis delivery service in California… which is a problem given that only 873 cannabis sellers are licensed in the state. By the UCBA’s estimates, 2,835 of the 3,757 listings on WeedMaps are for unlicensed sellers. Put another way, there are more than three times as many illegal retailers than there are legal dispensaries or delivery services.

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New Bill on the Table to Reschedule Marjuana

Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL) introduced the legislation, which is titled the “Marijuana 1-to-3 Act.” True to its name, the bill would simply require the attorney general to move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act, with the aim of increasing research on the drug’s effects.

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Feds Want Lots of Drugs

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) wants 3,200,000 grams of marijuana to be legally grown in the U.S. next year, the agency announced. The more than 7,000 pounds of cannabis will be used in scientific studies investigating the effects of the plant. Separately in the new Federal Register notice, DEA is proposing that 384,460 grams of tetrahydrocannabinols, 40 grams of LSD, 50 grams of MDMA and 30 grams of psilocybin be produced next year.

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Is Google Banning CBD Ads?

Google has announced a new policy for speculative and experimental medicines. In its section concerning advertisements, Google shared its new “Healthcare and Medicines” policy.

The new policy prohibits, “advertising for unproven or experimental medical techniques such as most stem cell therapy, cellular (non-stem) therapy, and gene therapy.”

The policy does not explicitly identify CBD, but it does lead to the question as to whether these substances will be excluded under the new policy. After all, at the end of the day, the benefits of CBD is largely dependent upon anecdotal, and not clinical evidence.

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Juul Thumbs Nose at FDA

The FDA is hot on the trail of Juul about an ad campaign from the vaping company that recommended consumers switch from regular cigarettes. Is Juul worried? Nah. A company spokesman told CNBC that Juul plans to continue running the commercials and has already bought ads for the next month.

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