August 5, 2020
You can still get busted in the U.S. for smoking hemp
One of the main arguments in favour of legalizing industrial hemp was that a person couldn’t get high on it even if they smoked a field of the stuff. The media has even suggested that if the general population decided to start raiding hemp crops across the U.S. in pursuit of a buzz, all they would get is a headache. When Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell took it upon himself in 2018 to legalize hemp in the U.S., the idea was that the plant would only be used as processed fibre and wouldn’t be something the consumer would gravitate toward in plant form. They certainly wouldn’t smoke it, right? Well, it turns out that not only are people smoking hemp, it is becoming one of the fastest growing trends on the cannabis scene.
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Just over a year ago, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed legislation allowing production and retail sale of hemp and hemp products in the state. Since then retail shops selling things like cannabidiol, better known as CBD oil in a variety of forms, including tinctures and edibles. Some also sold hemp products that could be smoked or vaped. It's important to note the legal hemp is not the same as marijuana. It does not contain a level of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC — the psychoactive component of marijuana — so it doesn't produce a high. Instead, many feel it provides relief from the symptoms and effects of a variety of medical conditions. But final rules on the state's hemp program changed the game as of Sunday. Retailers can still sell hemp products — as long as they are not specifically manufactured to smoked or vaped. The reason? Well, it's pretty detailed but to keep things simple it seems even the small amount of what is called Delta 9 THC in legal hemp grows in potency when heated or burned. So it's hard to accurately ensure that, when smoked, the THC inhemp stays within legal limits. Advocates for legal hemp say some users find smoking the plant works better for them than other forms of the product. And they worry the new rules will leave them without needed relief. Some estimates put sales of smokable hemp at about 30 percent of the industry. So retailers will feel the pinch, too. At least legally. You see, growers can still grow the stuff and retailers will be able to sell loose hemp flower just as they have been. But they cannot market anything as smokable or make anything smokable, such as vape cartridges or pre-rolled hemp cigarettes. What the consumer does with the still legal loose hemp flower is another matter. Basically, it's now illegal to sell a hemp "joint," but legal to sell what's in it. So what we have here is a law that serves practically no purpose except to make things slightly more annoying to retailers and customers.
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August 5, 2020
Mississippi farmers can start applying for hemp license
Mississippi farmers, or those interested in becoming farmers, can now apply for a hemp grower license. The license application period began Saturday and runs through Oct. 31 through the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Hemp is a member of the cannabis plant family used for textiles, fuels, clothing and other products. The new Mississippi law legalized the cultivation of hemp and allowed Agriculture and Commerce Commissioner Andy Gipson to create a state plan for hemp farming. State lawmakers did not appropriate the money for a state hemp program, so Gipson said he asked the USDA to handle the licensing for Mississippi hemp growers.
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August 4, 2020
Arizona Governor Slams Marijuana Legalization Ballot Measure In Voter Pamphlet Argument
Ahead of what’s shaping up to be a contentious campaign season around marijuana in Arizona, Gov. Doug Ducey (R) and other opponents are claiming that legalization would unleash a host of public health hazards on the state. In an official voter guide argument published on Monday against a proposed initiative that’s likely to be on the November ballot, the governor called legalizing cannabis “a bad idea based on false promises.”
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August 4, 2020
Hemp farming regulations signed into Georgia law
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has signed a bill that regulates the state’s new hemp farming industry by increasing processing fees, setting transportation rules and allowing out-of-state hemp sales. The measure prepares the state for its first hemp crops, which are already being grown this summer after the General Assembly legalized hemp farming last year.
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The Texas Department of State Health Services announced Monday it has launched a new program to regulate the manufacturing, processing, distribution and retail sale of consumable hemp products. It’s called the Consumable Hemp Program. DSHS is currently accepting applications online for consumable hemp product licenses and retailer registrations, the agency said in a news release Monday. “The program establishes a consistent regulatory framework for consumable hemp products that are manufactured or sold in Texas,” said Stephen Pahl, DSHS Associate Commissioner for Consumer Protection.
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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said marijuana is a “therapy that has proven successful” in response to a question about whether cannabis banking provisions are germane to coronavirus relief legislation. Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN) filed a bill to federally legalize marijuana and regulate it like tobacco. U.S. Customs and Border Protection would be tasked with developing rules for cannabis imports and exports, and there would be a federal purchasing age limit of 21. A new Louisiana law allowing doctors to recommend medical cannabis for any debilitating condition they see fit took effect. Other new laws that came into force protect banks from being punished by state regulators for working with marijuana businesses, set hemp and CBD rules and provide legal immunity for physicians and hospitals caring for medical cannabis patients. A new study found that marijuana use is associated with “improved sexual desire, arousal, orgasm, and overall satisfaction” for women.
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August 4, 2020
House bill blocks feds from enforcing marijuana ban in states that legalized recreational, medical weed
Illinois has other cannabis-related laws in the pipeline for 2020, including a law that will allow students who are medical marijuana patients to use cannabis
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August 4, 2020
You can still get busted in the U.S. for smoking hemp
One of the main arguments in favour of legalizing industrial hemp was that a person couldn’t get high on it even if they smoked a field of the stuff. The media has even suggested that if the general population decided to start raiding hemp crops across the U.S. in pursuit of a buzz, all they would get is a headache. When Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell took it upon himself in 2018 to legalize hemp in the U.S., the idea was that the plant would only be used as processed fibre and wouldn’t be something the consumer would gravitate toward in plant form. They certainly wouldn’t smoke it, right? Well, it turns out that not only are people smoking hemp, it is becoming one of the fastest growing trends on the cannabis scene.
Learn more
Just over a year ago, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed legislation allowing production and retail sale of hemp and hemp products in the state. Since then retail shops selling things like cannabidiol, better known as CBD oil in a variety of forms, including tinctures and edibles. Some also sold hemp products that could be smoked or vaped. It's important to note the legal hemp is not the same as marijuana. It does not contain a level of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC — the psychoactive component of marijuana — so it doesn't produce a high. Instead, many feel it provides relief from the symptoms and effects of a variety of medical conditions. But final rules on the state's hemp program changed the game as of Sunday. Retailers can still sell hemp products — as long as they are not specifically manufactured to smoked or vaped. The reason? Well, it's pretty detailed but to keep things simple it seems even the small amount of what is called Delta 9 THC in legal hemp grows in potency when heated or burned. So it's hard to accurately ensure that, when smoked, the THC inhemp stays within legal limits. Advocates for legal hemp say some users find smoking the plant works better for them than other forms of the product. And they worry the new rules will leave them without needed relief. Some estimates put sales of smokable hemp at about 30 percent of the industry. So retailers will feel the pinch, too. At least legally. You see, growers can still grow the stuff and retailers will be able to sell loose hemp flower just as they have been. But they cannot market anything as smokable or make anything smokable, such as vape cartridges or pre-rolled hemp cigarettes. What the consumer does with the still legal loose hemp flower is another matter. Basically, it's now illegal to sell a hemp "joint," but legal to sell what's in it. So what we have here is a law that serves practically no purpose except to make things slightly more annoying to retailers and customers.
Learn more
