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Lawmakers In Denmark Seek To Expand Cannabis Pilot Program

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

Pilot programs seem to be a popular approach to cannabis legalization in Europe. For instance, Switzerland has a cannabis legalization pilot program in which cannabis is legal for adult use and commerce purposes in a handful of cities. The Netherlands has a similar program.

The goal of a cannabis legalization pilot program is to ‘ease’ a country into legalization by rolling things out in a limited fashion rather than legalizing nationwide all at once, such as how Canada implemented legalization. Public policy and health experts can then study what is happening at a local level and, in theory, be better suited to recommend nationwide policies.

A cannabis pilot program like the one described exists in Copenhagen, and if a coalition of lawmakers has its way, cannabis legalization pilot programs will be implemented in other parts of Denmark as well. Per Mugglehead:

Danish officials across five political parties have proposed a plan for an adult-use cannabis pilot similar to a program underway in its capital city.

Earlier this month, the proposal was presented in Danish Parliament instructing the government to start legislative work that will result in a bill that legalizes cannabis for five years.

According to submitted documentation, that bill will look like one put forth in Copenhagen with sales at state-controlled outlets, and it’s legal for citizens to buy, possess, grow and consume cannabis for personal use.

Other provisions of the pilot program reportedly include a way for jurisdictions in Denmark to sign up for the program, all cannabis would be domestically produced, retail staff would be trained and licensed, the legal age would be set at 18 years old, and retail sales would be limited to residents.

I personally feel that five years is too long for the pilot program to run, and that cannabis should be legalized nationally well before that timeline is up. However, I suppose that it’s possible that so many jurisdictions will sign up for the pilot program that it could spread things up considerably. It’s definitely great news for the jurisdictions that implement the policy change.

The incremental approach is not optimal, however, it is better than maintaining nationwide prohibition. As I have always stated regarding cannabis activism – if you can’t legalize nationally, focus locally. Every local reform victory adds to the victory pile and further builds the momentum for a national reform victory.

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Study In Italy Finds That Patients Successfully Replace Opioids With Cannabis

Written by Johnny Green on . Posted in Science.

It is estimated that roughly 1 out of every 5 people on earth suffers from chronic pain, with the likeliness of someone having the condition increasing with age. The rate of people over the age of 65 that suffer from chronic pain is as high as 85% according to at least one study.

Chronic pain is defined as being ongoing and lastly over 6 months, and can be caused by any number of factors. For some patients, chronic pain is a symptom of another condition, such as cancer. For others, its the result of an injury or accident.

Whatever the cause, chronic pain can be very tough to deal with. In some cases, it can be extremely debilitating and interfere with virtually every aspect of daily life. To make matters worse, when pain patients go to their doctor they are almost always met with one form of recommended treatment – opioids.

It is always worth mentioning that just because someone takes opioids, they shouldn’t be shamed for doing so. For some patients, it’s their only option, and for many other patients, it’s effective for their specific situation. Just as people shouldn’t be subjected to negative stigma for using cannabis, so too should they never be subjected to negative stigma for using opioids or any other medicine for that matter.

With that being said, cannabis is exponentially safer than opioids, and according to a new study many patients are reducing their reliance on opioids after starting medical cannabis treatment. Below is more information about it via a news release from NORML:

Milan, Italy: The long-term use of plant-derived cannabis extracts by patients with chronic pain is associated with reduced reliance on prescription opioids, according to data published in the European Review for Medical and Pharmacological Sciences.

A team of Italian researchers assessed the use of prescription opioids and other medicines in a cohort of chronic patients in the six months immediately prior to and immediately following their initiation of medical cannabis.

Authors reported that a significant percentage of subjects ceased their use of prescription opioids by the conclusion of the trial. They concluded, “Analyses by subgroups showed a statistically significant difference in the proportion of female opioid non-users before and after cannabis-based oil treatment (34.1 percent to 56.1 percent), as well as in the proportion of under-65 years old opioid non-users before and after cannabis-based oil treatment (32.5 percent to 55 percent), in the proportion of opioid non-users with non-severe comorbidity (33.3 percent to 54.2 percent), and … in the proportion of opioid non-users with a chronic pain condition (32.6 percent to 59.2 percent).”

The findings are consistent with dozens of other studies showing that pain patients typically reduce or eliminate their use of prescription opioids following the use of cannabis. Inconsistent with prior studies, authors did not identify an association between medical cannabis use and a significant reduction in patients’ use of other prescription drugs, including benzodiazepines.

Full text of the study, “Long-term cannabis-based oil therapy and pain medications prescribing patterns: An Italian observational study,” appears in European Review for Medical and Pharmacological Sciences. Additional information is available from the NORML fact sheet, ‘Relationship Between Marijuana and Opioids.’ Information on cannabis in the treatment of chronic pain is available from NORML.

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Cannabis Expungement Process In Bermuda Runs Into Record Keeping Issues

Written by Johnny Green on . Posted in Politics.

Bermuda is one of many nations around the world that is working to reform its harmful cannabis policies. As we previously reported, Bermuda’s efforts include adult-use legalization, although threats of interference by Britain are proving to be a major hindrance for that particular component.

A measure was passed in Bermuda in 2020 which sought to remove cannabis offenses from people’s records when the charge(s) involved possession of a personal amount of cannabis. Unfortunately, the process of automatically expunging records is hitting a major hurdle, as described by Royal Gazette:

A law designed to clear the criminal convictions of people caught with small amounts of cannabis has hit problems because old documents often failed to quantify the amounts of drugs involved.

The Attorney-General, Kathy Lynn Simmons, told MPs on Friday that work to expunge records of people caught in possession of small amounts of the drug since a legal change in 2020 had faced problems because of patchy police and court records.

She admitted: “To date, two expungement orders have been issued by the minister and we are seeking remedies as it relates to other applications.”

Unfortunately, as other jurisdictions around the globe work to expunge old cannabis convictions, this is likely to be a re-occurring problem. When many of the current laws on the books around the world were implemented, reefer madness was running rampant. As a result of that, all acts involving cannabis were treated harshly, regardless of the amount involved.

A cannabis conviction on a person’s record can have a negative impact on that person’s life well into the future, way past the point that they paid their fines and/or served their time. That is true even in jurisdictions that have legalized cannabis for adult use.

My father was convicted in Oregon in the 1980s of a cannabis-only offense involving 4 ounces of brick weed. Oregon legalized the possession of 8 ounces back in 2014, with the law taking effect in 2015. He still fails background checks in 2022 even though Oregon legalized cannabis years ago. It’s one of many unfortunate examples of how a cannabis offense on a person’s record can have a lasting, negative impact.

Germany Drug Commissioner Czar Burkhard Blienert Germany Drug Commissioner Czar Burkhard Blienert

German Commissioner Provides Insight Into Legalization Approach

Written by Johnny Green on . Posted in Politics.

International cannabis policy and industry observers have had their eyes set on Germany ever since the current governing coalition expressed a desire to legalize cannabis for adult use at the national level. Often referred to as ‘the traffic light coalition,’ the current governing coalition in Germany made the announcement shortly after the last election.

Germany is already home to the largest medical cannabis industry in Europe, and given that it has one of the largest economies on planet earth, adult-use legalization coupled with a regulated national sales system would be an extremely big deal. So far Uruguay, Canada, and Malta have legalized cannabis for adult use, however, none of those countries have the same legalization model.

Malta still prohibits adult-use sales, although it will eventually allow private clubs to exist, and Uruguay has historically limited sales to residents via pharmacies and clubs. Canada is the only country that has legalized cannabis sales to all adults via a robust buffet of options – storefronts, delivery, ordering online, etc.

Germany is planning on allowing adult-use sales nationwide via a range of options, and once that happens it will likely prove to be bigger for global cannabis efforts than the three current legal nations combined. Canada, Uruguay, and Malta have a combined population of roughly 42 million people. Compare that to Germany which has a population that is nearly double that figure.

Burkhard Blienert, who we were proud to have as a speaker at our last event in Berlin, has served as Germany’s ‘drug czar’ since January. Blienert recently participated in an interview with Stern in which he discussed, among other things, the effort to legalize cannabis in Germany. To read the full interview click this link. Below are some interesting excerpts (translated to English):

Stern: They started with the promise of a “progressive drug policy”. What does that mean for you? 

Blienert: This is clearly the realization that in the field of cannabis, criminal law is not a tool that helps. That’s not how we reach consumers. That’s why we need a different social perspective on how we deal with it.

Stern: Education without criminal law – aren’t you playing down drug use?

Blienert: I believe that society’s job is to protect people. When it comes to cannabis, we are very specific in the coalition agreement. The point is not to allow people to obtain products that are illegal and harmful to their health on the black market, but to empower people and create regulated access to safe products for them. 

Stern: What’s the latest on cannabis legalization?

Blienert: A lot of people are looking forward to that. 

Stern: That’s exactly why I’m asking. 

Blienert: I’ll have to disappoint everyone at the moment. We are in the early stages where we are debating and discussing the structures for a process. We need a law that lasts. The way there is not a short-distance run. This is a complex and complicated project involving many ministries. And I would like us to involve the public, associations and science. The goal is legalization in this legislative period. We’ll do it.

Stern: Why is this taking so long? Actually, the coalition parties were in agreement. 

Blienert: It’s really not a short story, it’s a novel that we’re writing right now and it needs good preparation, research, a good structure, so that afterwards the ending will be good. 

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Canadian Researchers Analyze Dozens Of Cannabis/Alcohol DUI Studies

Written by Johnny Green on . Posted in Science.

Driving under the influence policies as they pertain to cannabis is an extremely important area of public policy. Everyone should want to keep roadways safe and treat driving while intoxicated by any substance as a very serious matter.

With that being said, just because someone consumes cannabis does not automatically mean that they are too impaired to drive. Also, just because someone has cannabis in their system it doesn’t mean that they are impaired, and for that matter, it doesn’t mean that the cannabis in the person’s system indicates that they consumed recently.

Cannabis can stay in a person’s system for a very long time, and due to how fast the body metabolizes cannabis, having cannabinoids in the system could mean that the person consumed cannabis just hours prior, or a month prior – there’s no scientific way to know for sure once cannabinoids have been metabolized.

Policymakers and regulators are struggling with how to address cannabis DUI policies, with many trying to superimpose the approach to alcohol DUIs on the approach to cannabis use.

Unfortunately for those people, cannabis does not interact with the human body the same way that alcohol does, as demonstrated by the results of a new study. Below is more information about it via a news release from NORML:

Alberta, Canada: The magnitude of cannabis’ influence on driving performance is far less than that of alcohol, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis published in the journal Addiction.

Canadian researchers analyzed data from 57 studies assessing the influence of cannabis and alcohol on driving behavior and crash risk.

They acknowledged that cannabis exposure was typically associated with deviation in drivers’ lateral positioning (lane weaving) and a decrease in their average speed. Cannabis use was “not associated with an increase in crashes in experimental studies.” Authors also found “no compelling evidence” that cannabis influenced hazard response time, headway variability, time out of lane, speed variability, speed exceedance, or time speeding.

They concluded, “Specifically, for the measures reported here, there are no instances where the average effect of cannabis is equal to or greater than the driving performance decrements associated with BAC concentration ranging from 0.04 to 0.06 percent.”

Consistent with other studies, authors acknowledged that the combined use of cannabis and alcohol “is generally more detrimental to driving performance relative to non-intoxication or to either drug in isolation.”

NORML has long acknowledged that acute cannabis intoxication can influence driving performance, particularly if consumed with alcohol, and has opined that anyone inhaling cannabis “should refrain from driving for a period of several hours.”

Full text of the study, “Effects of cannabis and alcohol on driving performance and driver behavior: A systematic review and meta-analysis,” appears in Addiction. Additional information is available in the NORML fact sheet, ‘Marijuana and Psychomotor Performance.’

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Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Criticizes Legalization In Other Countries

Written by Johnny Green on . Posted in Politics.

Russia’s deputy foreign minister came out swinging this week against cannabis legalization in the Western Hemisphere:

This is not the first time that Russia’s government has been critical of cannabis legalization in other countries, specifically when it comes to Canada. When Canada announced plans to legalize cannabis for adult use nationally, Russia was quick to condemn the move.

In the summer of 2018 Moscow issued a stern warning to Canada regarding looming cannabis legalization at the time, stating that Canada’s new policy meant it had “deliberately decided to breach international law.” Canada legalized cannabis in October 2018.

“We expect Canada’s partners in the G7 to respond to its ‘high-handedness’ because this alliance has repeatedly declared its adherence to the domination of international law in relations between states,” Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement at the time.

The comments out of Russia come in the midst of not only the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine but also as WNBA star Brittney Griner remains in custody in Russia while facing serious cannabis-related charges.

Griner, a United States citizen and professional women’s basketball star, was arrested at an airport in Russia after allegedly being found in possession of cannabis vape pen cartridges. Griner is looking at a potential decade in prison in Russia as a result, which serves as a grim reminder of how harmful Russia’s cannabis policies are.

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Study Finds Recent Cannabis Use Associated With Lower Resting Heart Rate

Written by Johnny Green on . Posted in Science.

Heart health is extremely important. For obvious reasons, if your heart isn’t healthy then it will affect the rest of your body. Heart failure is the leading cause of hospitalizations worldwide.

High blood pressure, high cholesterol, and smoking are the three leading contributors to heart disease. Chest pain and discomfort, shortness of breath, numbness, and abnormal heartbeats are all symptoms of poor heart health.

One way that heart health is measured is via a person’s resting heart rate. A lower resting heart rate indicates that the heart is using less effort to pump blood. A higher resting heart rate indicates that the heart is working hard to pump blood, even while the body is at rest, which is not good news.

A team of international researchers recently examined cannabis consumption’s impact, or lack thereof, on subjects’ resting heart rate. Below is more information about it via a news release from NORML:

San Francisco, CA: Current cannabis use is associated with lower resting heart rate, according to data published in The American Journal of Medicine.

A team of researchers from Switzerland and the United States assessed the relationship between cannabis exposure and heart rate in a cohort of middle-aged adults. Subjects in the study were participants in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study – which is a multi-decade assessment of cardiovascular health. Previous findings from the CARDIA sample have failed to link the use of cannabis – even long-term – with an elevated risk of either atherosclerosis, high blood pressure, ECG abnormalities, or other serious cardiovascular events at middle age.

Researchers reported that subjects who occasionally consumed cannabis (defined as five times or more per month) possessed a lower resting heart rate than did non-users, including those who were former marijuana consumers.

“Current cannabis use was associated with lower resting heart rate, but cumulative cannabis exposure was not,” they reported. “Our findings align with epidemiological research on thousands of participants from Europe and the USA that found no association between cannabis and cardiovascular disease, mortality, or surrogate outcomes.”

Authors concluded: “Current cannabis use was associated with lower resting heart rate, which supports findings from experimental studies. … Past cumulative exposure to cannabis was not associated with heart rate, indicating the effects of cannabis exposure on heart rate are transient. Our findings add to the growing body of evidence suggesting a lack of deleterious association of cannabis use at a level typical of the general population on surrogate outcomes of cardiovascular disease.”

Full text of the study, “Association between current and cumulative cannabis use and heart rate: The Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study,” appears in The American Journal of Medicine.

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European Cannabis Spring Update

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

Spring is here! What is going down on the European Cannabis front?

Spring is here, and there are some interesting developments on the reform discussion front. Covid is receding but there is a big complication in the room right now. Namely, the Russia-Ukraine war.

Where and how much will cannabis reform progress this year?

Germany

All eyes are on Deutschland now. The Traffic Light Coalition promised reform, but the reality is that they are not putting this on the top of their agenda. First it was Covid. Now it is the evolving crisis in the East, along with all the complications which came with it – including sources of energy as well as overall inflation and an influx of refugees. Regardless, it is also clear that the German industry will not go away – and further that those who are in the medical space already are eager to expand into a new vertical.

Insiders say that rec reform is not likely to move legislatively, let alone any other way this year. In the meantime, lawsuits are afoot to define the legal status of imported hemp flower in the German market.

Beyond this, there is also clearly foreign money again looking to Germany to figure out where, when, and how to land. Go in too early and there is every possibility of being hung up on more legislative wait and see. So far, there has been no “too late.”

Switzerland

All eyes are on der Schweiz this spring. The country, while outside of the EU, is the first European country to move forward on a recreational trial that feels like one (in other words, not just seeds). Vendors are now getting ready for product launch via their Cantons. Stay tuned for further developments. From a pure reform front, this is the market with mo this year.

Malta and Luxembourg

The first technically “rec” markets in the EU (beyond Holland) are likely to better define rules this year. A seed market is a good start, but most people are not likely to want to grow their own.

France

The last major economy in the EU has finally bowed to the inevitable and even legalized the cultivation of medical cannabis this spring. However, there are many fights ahead, even as courts helped open the way for the sale of CBD flower.

European Victories

All is not doom and gloom, let alone wait and see. There have been some concrete victories this spring – namely the approval of novel food applications and an agreement on the percentage of THC allowed in hemp and hemp seeds on a regional basis. It may be slow, but at least it is moving.

Bottom line? There are many excuses being used by legislators to keep reform from the front burner – all of which ring hollow when the economic boon legalization will bring is factored into the equation. Europe needs this industry, no matter how many other global or even regional crises arise in the meantime.

Be sure to book your tickets to the Berlin International Cannabis Business Conference this summer!

London England London England

National Cannabis Awareness Campaign Launched In UK

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

BRITISH CANNABIS launches new awareness campaign for CBD products

It is not that the British don’t want cannabis reform. They do. It is just their government that does not want to move any faster for (fill in the blank) reason. This is not new. Majorities of populations are all moving into the cannabis reform column as political reform follows, sluggishly, behind.

BRITISH CANNABIS, however, an independently owned producer, manufacturer, and distributor of legal cannabis-derived products, has decided to educate the public about CBD (and of course their own products in the process). The campaign is part of a $650,000 marketing campaign to reach health-conscious British consumers over the age of 45.

It will be broadcast on the SKY and Channel 5 networks, marking the first time SKY has allowed cannabis advertising on its channel since 2019.

The company also began selling its products on eBay this month.

Changing Times

The British cannabis question generally, is in a strange place – namely still very much a grey area. London Mayor Sadiq Khan is moving forward with a pilot plan of decriminalization for London. Other areas may follow suit.

In the meantime, illegitimate operations are being raided by the police, including in abandoned buildings and (even more embarrassingly) in city centres.

Larger entities are beginning to establish themselves (like BRITISH CANNABIS) although it is still a hazardous business.

The ability to advertise is also a clear breakthrough in the entire discussion. This is still a contentious discussion just about everywhere in the American and European media markets.

Could it be that the British are finally evolving with the times?

A Long and Torturous Road

Patients are still finding it very difficult to access cannabis. Project TWENTY21, which was supposed to register 20,000 patients has, so far, only managed to enlist 2,000. Beyond that, it is still a game where only those with money can access cannabis anywhere near “legally” and that only after a major bureaucratic struggle.

Most consumers are still left out of the legal market.

Perhaps this is why the latest campaign is geared towards older consumers. They are the ones with the most money, although thanks to both Brexit and Covid, combined with rising oil prices, inflation shock is rife in the UK.

However, beyond such encouraging steps, there has been little news about the forward progression of reform in the UK so far this year.

For the latest updates on evolving cannabis business news and regulation, be sure to attend the International Cannabis Business Conference in Berlin and Zurich this summer!