Author: News Room

Finding authentic sources of cannabis history online can be like finding a lighter when you need it most… Painfully difficult. Thankfully, one YouTuber is preserving weed history one post at a time. For previous generations, books like Jack Herer’s Emperor Wears No Clothes or Dr. Lester Grinspoon’s Marihuana Reconsidered were the rare sources to learn about the history and science of the cannabis plant. For the modern era, Luc Carlin, founder of High Design, is informing a new generation of plant lovers with his cannabis docuseries High Design and LMC YouTube channel. Launched in 2019, Carlin now has more than…

A bill to legalize marijuana in Minnesota was approved in its fourth House committee and advanced through its Senate committee on Thursday. Lawmakers are working quickly to pass the legislation that was introduced earlier this month. The House version cleared the Labor and Industry Finance and Policy Committee in a voice vote. In the Senate, that companion bill passed 5-3 in the Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee. The measures are being sponsored by Rep. Zack Stephenson (D) and Sen. Lindsey Port (D) in their respective chambers. “The prohibition of cannabis is a failed system that has not achieved the desired…

After a nearly four-year study regarding the best way to regulate CBD, officials at the FDA have concluded that their existing rules don’t fit the unique substance. What that means to you: The FDA has the power to halt all CBD sales nationwide. They chose not to do so. CBD sales and possession will remain legal, and FDA officials will work with Congress to create a new type of safety protocol for cannabidiol (CBD). FDA officials first began looking into CBD in earnest in early 2019, when sales began taking off around the nation. Then-FDA Commissioner Ned Sharpless hosted the…

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced on Thursday that it is launching a weekly newsletter to provide “unbiased, timely, and accurate data” on the hemp industry. The first edition of the National Hemp Report from USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) was released in concert with the announcement. The report features information about weekly retail advertised prices for hemp products, in addition to import volumes and the values of hemp commodities that enter the U.S. for the week and year-to-date. “USDA has recognized the hemp industry’s need for timely market information,” USDA Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Jenny…

There is “no statistically significant increase” in psychosis-related diagnoses in states that have legalized marijuana compared to those that continue to criminalize cannabis, a new study published by the American Medical Association concluded. Researchers at Stanford University, the University of Pennsylvania and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) carried out an analysis of more than 63 million health insurance beneficiaries from 2003-2017 to address the idea that cannabis reform could be linked to higher rates of psychosis, which certain prohibitionists have cited to argue against legalization. The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Psychiatry,…

In a historic moment for the cannabis legalization movement, Mississippi’s first legal sale of medical marijuana took place earlier today in the town of Brookhaven. “It’s a very exciting day today,” said Melvin C. Robinson III, executive director of the Mississippi Cannabis Trade Association, who was on hand outside The Cannabis Company dispensary to celebrate the first sale on Wednesday afternoon. “History has been made in Brookhaven.” Debbie McDermott, a local woman who suffers from chronic pain, made the first purchase. “I think it’s going to [offer] so much help for so many people,” McDermott said. “I’m excited that there’s…

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says that it will not be creating rules to allow the marketing of CBD as dietary supplements or food items, leaving the massive industry without regulations despite repeated calls for administrative action from lawmakers, advocates and stakeholders. Following a “careful review” of the non-intoxicating cannabinoid, FDA said it reached the conclusion that the existing regulatory pathways that are in place for other dietary supplements and food additives will not work for CBD. Instead, the agency said that wants to “work with Congress on a new way forward.” In the meantime, FDA is also denying…

A North Carolina Republican senator has refiled a bill to legalize medical marijuana in the state, and a key leader in the chamber said that it’s “the right thing” to do, though he tempered expectations about the prospects of advancing the reform in the House in the short term. The new legislation from Senate Rules and Operations Committee Chairman Bill Rabon (R) would allow patients with qualifying conditions such as cancer, epilepsy, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and multiple sclerosis to possess and purchase cannabis from licensed dispensaries. An earlier version of the reform bill cleared the Senate last year, but…

I’m so glad January is almost over. The winter days kind of gel together into this endless cold and gloomy haze that’s just miserable. It simultaneously feels like it’s both the first day of the month, and the six hundredth, and I never feel warm, like, inside, ya know? And I’m reporting from Los Angeles, so I could only imagine the icy hellscape you guys are facing elsewhere in the country. We’ve been bombarded with rain, but it’s better than snow, I guess. At least the sun is starting to shine again… So not all is depressing! Last weekend the…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says it is only months away from finalizing recommendations for how cannabis should best be regulated and whether additional legislation from Congress is needed. FDA rules, long-awaited by the CBD sector, could eventually spur large investors to enter the market if the agency decides that hemp-derived cannabinoids can be treated as food or supplements instead of drugs. Safety concerns The FDA has said it is specifically studying whether CBD can be safely taken on a daily basis over a long period of time, or during pregnancy, and whether it has an effect on…