News Briefs: September 23, 2019

By
HeadQuest

CBD Supplements Lead Natural Wellness Market

With 332% growth year-on-year and $52 million in sales, cannabidiol (CBD) has taken the top spot as the best-selling herbal supplement in the natural channel, according to the 2018 HerbalGram Herb Market Report by the American Botanical Council.

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Mexico will legalize cannabis by the end of October.

Marijuana legalization was set in motion last year when the Supreme Court imposed a deadline to end prohibition. Moving the illicit cannabis market to a legal market will likely be a challenge for the Mexican government due to drug cartels.A CNN report stated that Mexican drug cartels generate $19 billion–$29 billion annually from drug sales in the US.

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Passenger Flying High Causes Emergency Landing

An unruly passenger forced an American Airlines flight from Arizona to Minnesota to make an emergency landing last week after he allegedly threatened passengers, yelling, ‘you’re all screwed’ and lit up what looked like a joint. The suspect claimed otherwise, saying he was high on cocaine.

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CBD Products Laced with Dangerous, Illegal Drugs

Various CBD products are advertised to contain safe cannabis derivative cannabidiol, but not all of them are true to what they promote. Based on data from law enforcement and independent labs, positive hits for synthetic cannabis were revealed in 28 out 350 samples from products sold in Georgia, Louisiana, Alabama, North Carolina, Texas, Virginia, Utah, and Tennessee. Most of the samples were for CBD vape products, while a small fraction edibles like gummies. Three of such samples were laced with fentanyl.

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White House Turns Deaf Ear to Vape Ban Concerns

The White House abruptly organized — and then quickly canceled — a meeting last week with frustrated conservative policy leaders, to try to tamp down anger about the sweeping vaping ban. The White House claims a scheduling conflict, but could it be something more?

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Study Finds CBD Goes Better THC

The effect of CBD varies from person to person. Some find it helps, while others don’t. A February 2019 study published in Scientific Reports found that cannabis products with higher THC levels were associated with greater symptom relief among more than 3,000 people, but CBD products (with no THC) were not.

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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.
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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?
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.