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From Gun Bans To Driving Limits: The International War On The Rights Of Medical Cannabis Users

Written by Marguerite Arnold on . Posted in Policy.

In the United States, the Biden Administration is in favour of banning gun ownership for medical users. In Germany, there is an ongoing debate about driving limits. Such policies rely on outdated criteria to penalize cannabis users

The push to fully and federally legalize cannabis in places like the US and Germany right now is leading to some very unfortunate (and certainly rights-infringing) regulations.

In the US, as various cannabis bills languish in both the House and Senate, and Brittney Griner cools her heels in a Russian prison for possession of less than one gram of cannabis oil, the Biden Administration is (shamefully) defending a federal gun ownership ban for medical cannabis users. The issue is now front and centre in a legal battle launched by Florida agricultural commissioner Nikki Fried (a Democrat) to challenge the same. Fried is running as a Democratic challenger to the sitting Republican governor, Ron DeSantis.

No matter how one feels about gun control, the idea of punishing a sick person who takes a certain kind of medication (which could be any medication, beyond cannabis) is highly worrying. Not to mention represents grotesque discrimination against those with disabilities requiring medication.

In Germany, with a federal government now in the process of figuring out how to craft legislation for the full legalization of cannabis, one of the most controversial aspects of the same is setting drugged driving limits. Currently, drivers are charged with drugged driving if they are caught with even one nanogram of THC in their bloodstream – the smallest measurable amount possible. Both ADAC, the German version of AAA, and the working group of Traffic Court Day, an annual and highly influential congress that recommends new driving regulations to the government, are in support of the smallest limit possible.

That said, there is beginning to be a debate here about how problematic that is for medical users – particularly as they have a continual THC presence in their blood, even if not “high.” Beyond these heavier users of course, even a light recreational user can show traces of cannabinoids in their blood up to 60 days after their last joint. While nobody wants stoned drivers on the speed limit-free Autobahn, there needs to be some kind of compromise – not to mention some kind of technology deployment to the police – which can differentiate between recent enough use to impair driving and a THC blood level that shows constant use.

No matter where this kind of debate is taking place, however, it is clear that such questions have never been answered – and any new regulations are likely to be controversial enough to end up in court. Legislators are unlikely to be able to figure this out on their own.

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Spanish General Counsel Of Official Colleges Of Physicians Plans To Train Doctors In Cannabis Care

Written by Marguerite Arnold on . Posted in Policy, Science.

The formal approval of cannabis for medical purposes in Spain has created a demand to train doctors in prescribing medical cannabis

The Spanish General Council of Official Colleges of Physicians has announced plans to train doctors to prescribe medical cannabis. This endeavor however is not something specific to cannabis reform, but rather incorporates cannabis into already existing training programs for new medicines in general.

There is no date set for the initiation of the new program.

The Urgent Need for Doctor Training and Education

The need for doctors who understand how to administer cannabis as medicine has never been more urgent. As recreational reform how hangs in the balance in multiple European countries, how the drug interacts with the human body is an issue that still needs to be better understood – no matter the intention of the user.

There are several reasons for this. The first is, of course, medical. Most mainstream physicians do not understand how to administer cannabis – and specialists tend to err on the side of extreme caution – leaving many medical users without enough medicine. The additional issues include ending discrimination that still exists against medical cannabis users – such as prohibiting them from receiving organ transplants – to understanding how cannabis interacts with the human body.

The second reason, however, is clearly because additional reform is on the way. “Recreational users” will mushroom across Europe – many of whom are actually patients but do not realize it.

The Status of Cannabis Legalization in Spain

Spain pioneered the idea of cannabis clubs – the model for which has shown up internationally – and most notably, in South Africa. For the past decade, clubs have been established across the country and are now present in most Spanish cities. Barcelona remains the centre of club culture and where most of the country’s clubs are located.

Beyond this, Spain has issued five licenses for medical cultivation at a federal level, the last being issued just this year.

In addition, hemp cultivation is legal across the country – but only for industrial use.

The formal recognition of medical cannabis is an important step here – but it clearly won’t be the last. Training doctors in cannabis care is an important part of the process to normalize the use of the plant as a medicine.

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Colombian President Considers Removing License Prerequisite For Cannabis Cultivation

Written by Marguerite Arnold on . Posted in Business, Policy.

Newly sworn-in President Gustavo Petro is on the cusp of a revolutionary new national stance on cannabis cultivation – namely removing the requirement of licenses for the same

Gustavo Petro, the newly sworn-in, left-leaning President of Colombia, has made clear that ending the drug war will be a priority of his administration.

He even highlighted the same in his inauguration speech saying, “It is time for a new international convention that accepts that the drug war has failed, which has left a million murdered Latin Americans during these 40 years and that leaves 70,000 Americans dead from drug overdoses each year.”

Last week, he discussed his vision of a legal industry in Colombia at a summit of mayors.

Petro stressed the economic potential of a fully legal cannabis industry – and in a revolutionary move not often seen at the federal level – proposed removing the requirement to have a license for domestic cannabis companies.

He has also called for the release of prisoners held on non-violent drug charges.

As a former member of M-19 a guerrilla group, Petro is no stranger to violence, including over drugs.

Where Does Legalization Stand in Colombia?

Senator Gustavo Bolivar introduced new legislation last month which has a good chance of passing now that the country has a majority of liberal lawmakers. The position has also been recognized internationally, including by US Representative Jim McGovern (D-MA) who said that he looked forward to working together with such a forward-thinking executive to “rethink drug policy.”

How Would Unlicensed Cannabis Fit into International Standards?

Petro is suggesting a potentially radically new approach to the regulation of the cannabis industry – namely turning it into a regular commodity crop – like soybeans and corn. This does not mean that he is suggesting the cultivation of the crop without any oversight. All such food crops must comply with international standards on everything from pesticide use to the kind of soil they are grown in – even if not sold as “organic.”

This approach is a truly different one that the model that currently stands – thanks in large part to the approach adopted in Europe’s medical markets. Currently, the only high THC cannabis that can cross international borders is GMP certified (medical, pharmaceutical grade).

However, the debate about this is now starting to be heard across a much wider spectrum of debate given the pending legalization of recreational use aus Deutschland. It could be that Petro is angling to become first in line to import Colombian-grown cannabis into the new recreational market in Germany.

Whatever happens, however, Colombia is now at the forefront of an international discussion about regulation that will undoubtedly have an impact on the status quo. Globally.

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Hong Kong Taking First Steps To Crack Down On CBD

Written by Frank Schuler on . Posted in Business, Policy.

Earlier this summer government officials in Hong Kong announced that they are pursuing a plan to prohibit CBD entirely. The announcement came after it was determined that as many as one-third of CBD products in Hong Kong contain trace amounts of THC.

Hong Kong is home to a number of CBD companies and not just ones that infuse CBD into such products as drinks and foods. The City’s first CBD cafe opened in 2020 and since that time a number of other similar businesses have popped up in Hong Kong.

With a CBD ban winding up, businesses in Hong Kong that have built their models on the popular cannabinoid will likely have to close. Per Bangkok Post:

An unregulated market in goods containing the cannabis-derived compound has flourished since the city’s first CBD cafe, Found, opened in July 2020. The Asian financial hub now has dozens of cafes and shops selling CBD, but a government proposal to ban the substance before the end of the year puts those enterprises in jeopardy.

“With a full ban for CBD in Hong Kong, we would be forced to probably shelve the Found brand as it exists today,” said Fiachra Mullen, chief marketing officer at Altum International Ltd, which owns Found brand as it exists today,” said Fiachra Mullen, chief marketing officer at Altum International Ltd, which owns Found and supplies CBD products to other businesses in the city.

Several peer-reviewed studies have found that CBD is effective at treating a number of conditions and is safe for human consumption. For that matter, studies have also determined the same to be true for THC.

Hong Kong should be embracing the CBD industry, not seeking to destroy it. CBD is legal in a growing list of other countries, and the CBD market is worth billions of dollars at the international level. It’s a shame that reefer madness is ruining it in Hong Kong.

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Ontario’s Cannabis Industry Model Needs A Revamp

Written by Johnny Green on . Posted in Business, Policy.

On August 5th a third-party distribution center in Ontario, Canada named Domain Logistics was subjected to a cyber attack that essentially crippled the company’s ability to deliver cannabis products to licensed retailers. Domain Logistics contracts with the provincial government in Ontario where all licensed outlets are required to purchase their cannabis from the government (Ontario Cannabis Store).

Had the cyber attack occurred in most other legal cannabis markets, it would have largely been an isolated incident and the fallout from the attack would have only affected a small percentage of cannabis businesses. However, being that every retailer must go through the Ontario Cannabis Store, and by extension, its vendors, the fallout from the cyber attack on August 5th spread across the province.

A Broken Monopoly Model

It is estimated that Ontario is home to roughly 1,333 licensed retailers. Some of the licensed outlets are part of large store chains while others are small, family-owned operations consisting of only one store. Of course, there are also cannabis companies that fall somewhere in between.

Regardless of their size, as previously mentioned in this article, every single licensed retail outlet has to go through the Ontario Cannabis Store since it has a monopoly on supplying inventory. Monopoly models rarely work, especially when the entity having the monopoly is the government and the product is cannabis which has to compete with an unregulated market.

In a monopoly cannabis model, it only takes one hiccup anywhere in the supply chain to largely bring the regulated cannabis industry in that market to a grinding halt. That is on full display in Ontario where licensed retailers received no cannabis product deliveries for roughly a week. Even with deliveries finally resuming, many retailers are still experiencing bare shelves.

The Need For Further Reform

The main lesson from this latest cyber attack in Ontario is that there need to be further reforms to help ensure that the regulated industry can effectively compete with the unregulated industry. The current model will always be vulnerable to all types of issues, not just cyber attacks, and it only takes one major issue to cause enormous damage to the regulated industry.

How many consumers and patients sought out unregulated sources for cannabis due to the halt in deliveries in Ontario? We may never know the actual number, however, it’s a safe bet that it was a considerable percentage of people that would have otherwise made their purchases from regulated sources, and that is unacceptable.

Regulated outlets have a hard enough time competing with the unregulated market being that the unregulated market requires considerably less overhead to operate. After licensing fees, facility rental fees, security costs, and everything else that goes into running a legal cannabis business regulated outlets are already at a distinct disadvantage compared to unregulated sources. Ontario keeping its current model, and the hiccups and issues that come with it, all but ensure that the unregulated market in Ontario will continue to thrive, and that’s unfortunate considering that things don’t have to be that way.

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French Senators Tout Benefits Of Cannabis Legalization

Written by Johnny Green on . Posted in Policy.

France, like every other country on planet earth, is home to adult-use cannabis consumers and medical cannabis patients. Whether the government in France regulates cannabis or not, people are still going to consume it. That is a point that is not lost on a group of Senators in France who recently published an op-ed in Le Monde calling for national legalization.

The op-ed’s text was provided by ‘a collective of 31 senators from the Socialist, Ecologist and Republican group, led by Gilbert-Luc Devinaz’ according to the subheadline of the article. The goal of the op-ed, as described in the same subheadline, is ‘to launch a consultation process in order to table a bill to legalize cannabis.’

What Legalization Provisions Are The Senators Calling For?

The Senators started their op-ed by citing statistics from a National Assembly ‘Recreational Cannabis Progress Report‘ regarding the rate of cannabis use in France. The report estimates that nearly 18 million people in France have tried cannabis at least once in their lives and that roughly 1.5 million people in France use cannabis ‘regularly.’ For reference, France is home to roughly 67 million people.

“In this context, we must get out of the lax trial regularly made to the proponents of an evolution of the legal framework. We, socialist senators, face reality: the situation is untenable. The French are ready to debate the consumption of so-called recreational cannabis.” the op-ed stated (translated from French to English).

The Senators describe prohibition as being “ineffective, inefficient and unjust.” The main crux of their proposal seems to hinge on regulating cannabis products to reduce the size and influence of the unregulated market and to help mitigate issues related to youth consumption. The op-ed briefly discussed decriminalization prior to declaring it insufficient and instead called for outright legalization.

Mounting Pressure Along The Border

For many years the cannabis reform discussion in France largely took place inside a political vacuum. Those days are long gone. Multiple countries that share a border with France are actively pursuing meaningful cannabis reform, not the least of which is Germany. Lawmakers in France are facing the inevitable – pursue domestic cannabis reform measures or watch cannabis consumers go from France to Germany to make their legal cannabis purchases and miss out on the economic benefits that come with it.

Lawmakers in France would be wise to get things moving in a swift manner, as the country is already well behind Germany and other nations when it comes to crafting cannabis policies and industry regulations. Just as the Senators that published the op-ed pointed out, people are going to consume cannabis in France regardless of what the laws are.

The only real question that remains is whether their consumer and patient dollars will go into a regulated system in France or not, and the only way that consumers will ever make legal purchases in France is if lawmakers step up. If they choose to keep dragging their feet, France will likely miss out on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

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CBD Is Safe And Effective For People With Treatment-Resistant Anxiety Disorders Per Clinical Trial

Written by Frank Schuler on . Posted in Science.

It is estimated that roughly 4% of the world’s population suffers from some level of anxiety, although, no one really knows the actual number. The condition often goes undiagnosed for various reasons, so it’s quite possible that the rate is much higher.

Anxiety involves intense, excessive, and persistent worry and fear about everyday situations. Physical symptoms can include a fast heart rate, rapid breathing, sweating, and fatigue.

Many of the pharmaceutical medications that are commonly prescribed for anxiety involve a laundry list of terrible side effects. Some cases of anxiety are so bad that pharmaceutical treatments don’t even work.

Fortunately, CBD may be able to help in those cases. Below is more information about it via a news release from NORML:

Melbourne, Australia: The adjunctive use of CBD safely and effectively reduces severe anxiety in young people, according to clinical data published in The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.

Australian researchers assessed the daily administration of CBD in a cohort of 31 young people (ages 12 to 25) with refractory anxiety. Participants self-titrated their daily doses of CBD (between 400 mgs and 800 mgs) over a 12-week period.

CBD dosing was associated with a “statistically significant reduction in anxiety severity,” as measured on the Overall Anxiety Severity and Impairment Scale (OASIS). CBD dosing also “demonstrated an acceptable safety profile, with no serious adverse events reported and no clinically significant deviations to blood cell counts.”

Investigators reported, “Approximately 40 percent of all participants experienced a 50 percent reduction in OASIS score, and two-thirds experienced a 33 percent reduction.” They added, “By the end of treatment, the number of participants rated as markedly or severely ill had decreased from 17 (56.7 percent) to 5 (16.7 percent).”

Authors acknowledged that CBD’s greatest efficacy was observed during the final four weeks of treatment, indicating that a longer treatment regimen may potentially lead “to even greater improvements.”

They concluded: “Given that the patients included in our trial were some of the most severe and treatment resistant and had significant functional impairment and multiple failed treatment attempts, the reduction in anxiety severity observed here suggests that CBD has clinically meaningful anxiolytic effects. … The findings of this trial suggest that further investigation of CBD for anxiety in conjunction with usual care is warranted.”

Other human trials evaluating the use of CBD for anxiety have yielded inconsistent results. A 2019 placebo-controlled trial reported that daily CBD intake reduces symptoms of social anxiety disorder in teens, whereas a 2022 study determined oral doses of CBD to be ineffective at reducing symptoms of moderate-to-severe testing anxiety in college students. A 2018 Brazilian study reported that the consumption of 300mg of CBD significantly reduced anxiety due to public speaking, but that higher (600mg) and lower (150mg) had no effect.

Full text of the study, “Cannabidiol for treatment-resistant anxiety disorders in young people: An open-label trial,” appears in The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.

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Authorized Medical Cannabis Patients At Low Risk For Psychiatric Hospitalizations

Written by Frank Schuler on . Posted in Science.

If you sit and listen to a cannabis prohibitionist talk for a long enough duration of time it’s almost guaranteed that they will offer up the talking point that ‘cannabis makes you crazy.’

They may not say it in those exact words, however, that is the sentiment of virtually any talking point by a cannabis prohibitionist that involves consuming cannabis and mental health.

Prohibitionists act as if a person taking one hit off of one joint is enough to instantly thrust that person into a mental health abyss. Fortunately, that is not the case, as evidenced by a recent study in Canada. Below is more information about it via a news release from NORML:

Quebec, Canada: Authorized medical cannabis patients are at low risk for psychiatric hospitalizations resulting from their marijuana use, according to data published in the journal Substance Use & Misuse.

Canadian researchers assessed marijuana-related hospitalizations among a cohort of over 23,000 authorized medical cannabis patients. (Canada has legalized the use of cannabis products for both medical purposes and for adult use.) Specifically, investigators tracked incidences of hospitalizations attributable to either “cannabis poisoning” or because of “mental or behavioral disorders due to the use of cannabis.” Patients in the study were tracked for a median of 240 days.

During the course of the trial, investigators reported that a total of 14 patients were hospitalized for issues related to cannabis toxicity and 26 were admitted for either mental or behavioral disorders. The findings push back against high-profile claims from some cannabis reform opponents that frequent marijuana exposure is a trigger for psychosis and other mental health disorders.

“The results suggest that the incidence of cannabis poisoning or cannabis-related mental or behavioral disorders was low among patients who were authorized to use cannabis for medical care,” authors concluded. “Our observation of small rates of ED visits and hospitalization for cannabis poisoning and CUDs [cannabis use disorders] among this large cohort of medical cannabis users helps address concerns regarding increasing use of medical cannabis.”

Full text of the study, “Incidence and predictors of cannabis-related poisonings and mental and behavioral disorders among patients with a medical cannabis authorization: A cohort study,” appears in Substance Use & Misuse. Additional information on cannabis and mental health is available from NORML’s white paper, ‘Cannabis, Mental Health, and Context: The Case for Regulation.

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Canada To Spend CA $200 Million Annually On Cannabis For Veterans

Written by Marguerite Arnold on . Posted in Policy.

The Canadian government is reimbursing more than double the amount for veterans’ cannabis reimbursement than it did just three years ago

According to newly released data, the Canadian government is on track to spend CA $200 million this year on cannabis claims for vets. This is $50 million more than last year and double what it spent just three years ago.

While experts and advocacy groups cannot pinpoint the specific reasons for this surge in demand, there are some obvious answers. The first is full legalization. The second is increased understanding and education about the impact of cannabis on the health issues that veterans tend to face. These include PTSD and brain injuries as well as other physical ailments. The third is undoubtedly the Covid Pandemic, which has seen increased use no matter the local legality of the plant.

There is also a call for more studies to understand what veterans are using the drug to treat.

Regardless, it is a very good indicator that the United States will also see a surge in demand from the same population after full legalization. The issue of reimbursed coverage is a controversial topic everywhere.

A Brief History of Canadian Veteran Cannabis Reimbursement

The federal government of Canada began reimbursing veterans for medical cannabis in 2008. At this time, such reimbursements were extremely limited and hard to get approval for. However, the change in policy was based on court rulings that stretched back for 20 years.

In 2014, Health Canada relaxed its rules about reimbursement authorizations, but did not impose limits on either expense or amount consumed. That year, the government reimbursed 112 vets at a cost of $409,000. The next year, the number of vets increased to 600 patients, and the cost increased to $1.7 million. According to government data released last June, there are now 180,000 Canadian veterans who are part of the program, at a cost of $153 million annually. This despite a 2016 decision by the government to limit use to 3 grams a day under the program, and further to impose a cost cap of $8.50 per gram. To put this in direct comparison with the civilian population, there are now 345,000 private citizens whose private insurance covers the costs.

Implications for Other Insured Populations

There are several takeaways from this data. The first is that it is clear that cannabis is working – and that the news about its medical efficacy is spreading. The second, however, which will have implications in places like Germany and the United States, is that insurers (either government-backed or private) may not like paying the costs – but it will soon become accepted – simply because there are no alternatives.

Cannabis the wonder drug has arrived. But the question of who pays for it is still an open question that no country has answers for.