International Cannabis Business Conference Blog – Page 67 – International Cannabis Business Conference

Clinical Trial Finds Nighttime Use of Cannabinol Reduces Sleep Disturbances

Written by Frank Schuler on October 15, 2023. Posted in Science.

Getting proper sleep is vital to human health. When someone doesn’t get proper sleep, either due to not being able to initially fall asleep, or because they cannot remain asleep, it can have a significantly negative effect on a person’s mental and physical health.

Researchers estimate that as many as 1 out of every 3 adults suffer from insomnia worldwide. The condition can lead to heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, stroke, obesity, and/or depression.

Researchers in Canada recently conducted a clinical trial in which they administered cannabinol (CBN) to people experiencing frequent sleep disturbances and the results were favorable. Below is more information about it via a news release from NORML:

Smith’s Falls, Canada: The oral consumption of the phytocannabinoid cannabinol (CBN) results in fewer sleep disturbances, according to placebo-controlled trial data published in the journal Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology.

Investigators assessed the use of CBN versus placebo in a cohort of 321 participants who self-rated their sleep quality as either “poor” or “very poor.” Subjects consumed either 20 mgs of CBN, a combined dosage of CBN and CBD, or placebo for seven days. Participants consumed cannabinoids in the form of gummies 90-minutes prior to bedtime.

The study’s authors reported, “Individuals receiving 20 mg CBN demonstrated reduced nighttime awakenings and overall sleep disturbance relative to placebo.” The combined use of CBD with CBN did not positively augment CBN treatment effects. Subjects reported only mild side-effects, including headache.

“The present study provides evidence to support the use of 20 mg CBN alone for the improvement of some sleep difficulties, including nighttime awakenings and overall sleep disturbance,” authors concluded. “[F]uture studies should continue to examine this potential side effects of CBN and compare it to the side effects of other pharmacological interventions for sleep.”

Prior placebo-controlled trials have reported that the use of cannabis extracts containing THC, CBD, and CBN is safe and effective for patients with chronic insomnia. Separate data published in 2018 also reported that the inhalation of herbal cannabis prior to bedtime is associated with “clinically significant improvements” in patients with insomnia.

Full text of the study, “A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study of the safety and effects of CBN with and without CBD on sleep quality,” appears in Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology. Additional information on cannabis and insomnia is available from NORML’s publication, Clinical Applications for Cannabis and Cannabinoids.

Top 5 Economic Effects Of Slovenian Cannabis Policy Modernization

Written by Johnny Green on October 9, 2023. Posted in Business, Policy.

Modernizing a nation’s outdated cannabis policies yields numerous benefits, and not just to people directly involved in the cannabis industry. All members of society benefit from the economic impact of policy modernization. Below are five examples of how Slovenia would benefit from modernizing its cannabis policies to permit regulated cannabis commerce incorporating data from already established legal markets.

Job Creation

One of the most significant economic benefits of permitting cannabis commerce is job creation. The emerging legal industry is made up of several sectors, each with its own workforce needs, requiring nearly every job type imaginable to some degree. Additionally, other than outdoor cultivation operations that rely solely on the sun, industry facilities can feasibly be located anywhere in Slovenia for the purposes of research and product development, bringing jobs to areas that may need them more than others.

The emerging legal industry has already created over 428,000 jobs in the United States where regulated commerce is permitted in certain states. Adult-use reform was first implemented in Canada in 2018, and an analysis by Deloitte determined that Canada’s legal industry had created over 150,000 jobs as of the publishing of its February 2022 report.

Boosting Local Economies

The overall economic boost from Canada’s legalized industry is substantial. Deloitte estimates that the legal cannabis industry in Canada contributed over $43.5 billion to the nation’s GDP between the period of October 2018 and February 2022. Cannabis companies directly invested over $4.4 billion into Canada’s economy, with the remaining boost to GDP coming from “indirect” economic contributions, and “induced” contributions.

Public Revenue

According to the United States Census Bureau, between July 2021 and the end of 2022, the governments of legal U.S. states received more than $5.7 billion in public revenue from the emerging industry via taxes and fees. In fiscal 2021-22 in Canada, national and local governments collected more than $1.12 billion.

The public revenue generated by a regulated industry benefits all members of Slovenia’s society, providing policymakers and government officials additional revenue that they can use for such things as schools, social services, and public infrastructure.

Boosting Existing Industries

Slovenia is already established as an international science and tech hub, and the demand for cannabis-based research and product development is already substantial and increasing with every passing year. Slovenia already possesses the knowledge, facilities, and human capital to gain a significant footprint in the cannabis science and technology sectors. However, the window of opportunity to gain a meaningful market share of the sectors will not be open forever, and delays in policy modernization will impact the potential for existing industries.

Savings From Ending Prohibition Enforcement

While it is unknown exactly how much Slovenia spends enforcing cannabis prohibition, it’s likely that it’s a substantial sum. When Slovenia modernizes its policies to permit legal commerce and refrain from enforcing prohibition against consumers and patients, it will instantly save whatever is currently being spent on cannabis enforcement. In Germany, where lawmakers are working to modernize the nation’s cannabis policies, cannabis prohibition costs the nation 1.3 billion euros a year according to an analysis by the Institute for Competition Economics (DICE) at the Heinrich Heine University in Duesseldorf.

This article first appeared at TheTalmanGroup.com and is syndicated with special permission

Court In Brazil Determines Cannabis Smell Does Not Justify Home Search

Written by Hazel Norman on October 9, 2023. Posted in Policy.

Cannabis prohibition enforcement involves various tactics, including the reliance on ‘smelling’ cannabis to ‘justify’ searching people, their personal property, their vehicle, and sometimes their homes. The latter was at the heart of a recent court case in Brazil that went all the way to the nation’s Superior Court of Justice.

A lower court previously determined that if law enforcement smelled cannabis from a person “who is already being investigated on suspicion of drug trafficking,” that law enforcement has just cause to search the person. However, that just cause does not extend to the suspect’s home and a judicial warrant is required, even if a different resident of the home authorizes entry.

The case involved an individual being investigated for suspected drug trafficking. After searching the suspect outside of their home and reportedly finding nothing, law enforcement then searched the individual’s home despite not having a warrant to do so. Cannabis and other illegal items were discovered during the search.

Law enforcement indicated that they had received permission to enter the residence from a different resident other than the suspect, however, the Superior Court of Justice determined that the search was illegal and that anything found during the search was inadmissible. Per Newsendip:

Minister Reynaldo Soares da Fonseca of the SCJ granted habeas corpus, a constitutional right for someone who is imprisoned to report wrongful detention or abuse of power.

Minister Reynaldo Soares da Fonseca recognized the illegality of the evidence and acquitted the defendant of any charges. He explains in his decision that there is a necessity for concrete evidence that would justify entering a home and invading the right to privacy.

“I reiterate that nothing illegal was found with the personal search, therefore not justifying entry into the person’s home,” concluded the judge.

The recent decision in Brazil obviously does not extend beyond Brazil’s borders. Furthermore, the scope of the decision is fairly narrow and still permits people to be searched outside their homes for simply smelling like cannabis.

What Brazil truly needs is a modernization of its national cannabis policies. Cannabis prohibition is a failed public policy that has harmed too many lives, and it’s beyond time that Brazil started taking a more sensible approach.

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Why Is Ireland’s Chief Medical Officer Concerned About Cannabis Usage Rates?

Written by Hazel Norman on October 9, 2023. Posted in Policy.

Ireland is a cannabis prohibition nation. Not only is adult-use cannabis prohibited in Ireland, but medical cannabis is also technically prohibited in Ireland. There is a program in Ireland in which a limited number of medical cannabis patients are permitted to travel to the Netherlands for medical cannabis treatments.

As of July 2020, only 30 patients were approved for the program. Considering that Ireland has a population of over 5 million people, the low patient count speaks for itself.

Personal cannabis possession in Ireland is a violation of the Misuse of Drugs Acts (1977-2016), and carries a penalty of up to €1,000 for the first and second offense. The fine can be increased to €1,270 for a first offense, and €2,540 for a second offense, if the amount of cannabis involved is deemed to be ‘excessive.’

The penalty for a third personal possession offense is one to three years in prison depending on the case. It is worth noting that the Criminal Justice (Community Service) Act 2011 mandates that courts consider community service in place of a prison sentence when possible.

Needless to say, Ireland’s cannabis policies are terrible and in desperate need of improvement. No patient should have to face fines, mandated community service, and/or incarceration for possessing their medicine.

And yet, against that backdrop, Ireland’s Chief Medical Officer’s reported concern is not the plight of patients, but rather, that people are consuming cannabis. Per excerpts from The Journal:

THE USE OF cannabis in Ireland is “of great concern”, the Chief Medical Officer has expressed to the Citizens’ Assembly on Drug Use.

“Cannabis can cause addiction,” she said. “We have 45,000 people with cannabis-use disorders in the latest data.”

Under-18s account for 80% of new presentations to cannabis addiction treatment services.

The excerpts from the article need context. For starters, what constitutes a ‘cannabis-use disorder’ is often determined by courts, law enforcement, and entities that profit from forcing people into treatment. Clearly, there is a bias involved in those instances.

Regarding ‘under-18s,’ many youth who are caught with cannabis, either by law enforcement or their parents, are forced into rehabilitation programs as part of their punishment. Statistics are reflective of that, and not reflective of ‘teen addiction’ per se.

Ireland does not have a cannabis use problem. Rather, it has a cannabis prohibition problem, and that problem is particularly terrible for suffering patients.

Study Finds No Significant Changes In Cannabis Use Post-Canadian Legalization

Written by Frank Schuler on October 9, 2023. Posted in Policy.

In every jurisdiction where cannabis reform is being pursued, both historically and currently, cannabis opponents use the similar, unfounded talking point that cannabis reform will lead to doomsday scenarios as it pertains to youth cannabis consumption.

The ‘what about the children’ talking point is used early and often when cannabis policy modernization efforts are announced in an area, including when only limited medical cannabis reform is being pursued.

Canada was the first G-7 nation to legalize cannabis nationally and is home to the most robust nationwide consumer offerings on earth. As such, it provides the best data regarding legalization’s impact on youth consumption rates. A recent study was published in Canada on this topic, and the results are favorable. Below is more information about it via a news release from NORML:

Hamilton, Canada: The adoption of cannabis legalization in Canada has not been associated with significant upticks in either marijuana use by young people or in the percentage of people experiencing adverse cannabis-related consequences, according to longitudinal data published in the journal JAMA Open Network.

A team of investigators from Canada and the United States assessed cannabis consumption trends in a cohort of at-risk young adults (ages 19 to 23) during the years immediately preceding and following legalization. Canada legalized the use and retail sale of marijuana products to those ages 18 and older in 2018.

Researchers reported, “Individuals who used cannabis more frequently pre-legalization significantly decreased their use and cannabis-related consequences post-legalization.” By contrast, those who had no history of cannabis use prior to legalization typically reported engaging in the limited use of marijuana use following legalization. However, this use was not associated with adverse consequences.

Authors concluded: “This study examined changes in cannabis use and consequences following recreational cannabis legalization in Canada in a sample of high-risk young adults, addressing the common concern that legalization may precipitate increases in use, particularly in this age group. Rather than detecting increases, however, the results revealed decreases overall, which is broadly consistent with substance use trajectories that might be expected among this age group in the absence of any policy change. … This study aligns with research from US jurisdictions which have largely found that legalization has not drastically altered consumption patterns among youths and young adults.”

State and federal data from the United States consistently has reported overall declines in self-reported marijuana use by young people over the past decade. During that time, nearly half of all states have adopted adult-use marijuana legalization.

Full text of the study, “Cannabis use frequency and cannabis-related consequences in high-risk young adults across cannabis legalization,” appears in JAMA Network Open. Additional information is available from the NORML Fact Sheet, ‘Marijuana Regulation and Teen Use Rates.’

Many MS Patients Experience Less Spasticity After Cannabis Treatment

Written by Frank Schuler on October 9, 2023. Posted in Science.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a serious health condition that affects many people around the world. It is estimated that as many as 2.8 million people suffer from MS globally and that someone new is diagnosed with the health condition every 5 minutes.

MS is a progressive disease involving damage to the sheaths of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. Symptoms include, but are not limited to, numbness, impairment of speech and muscular coordination, blurred vision, and severe fatigue.

Cannabis has been found by a growing number of MS patients to help effectively and safely treat their condition, and according to a recent study in Italy, it is associated with patients experiencing less spasticity. Below is more information about it via a news release from NORML:

Catania, Italy: Some 80 percent of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients suffering from severe spasticity experience dramatic reductions in their symptoms following treatment with a proprietary cannabis spray (aka Sativex) containing near equal rations of THC and CBD, according to an analysis of clinical trial data published in the journal Therapeutic Advancements in Neurological Disorders.

A team of Italian researchers analyzed trial data from three studies involving over 2,300 patients. They reported, “In all three studies, over 80 percent of assessed patients with severe spasticity at baseline reported a shift into a lower category of spasticity after 12 weeks.” This shift was most dramatic in those patients suffering from “severe spasticity” at baseline.

Sativex is available as a prescription medication in a number of countries, including Canada, France, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom. It is not approved for treatment in the United States. A separate cannabis extract drug, Epidiolex, which primarily contains CBD, is FDA-approved for the treatment of pediatric seizures.

Full text of the study, “A post hoc evaluation of the shift in spasticity in individuals with multiple sclerosis-related spasticity treated with nabiximols,” appears in Therapeutic Advancements in Neurological Disorders. Additional information on cannabis and multiple sclerosis is available from NORML’s publication, Clinical Applications for Cannabis and Cannabinoids.

Drug Sniffing Dogs False Alert 75% Of The Time According To Australian Study

Written by Frank Schuler on October 9, 2023. Posted in Science.

Cannabis prohibition enforcement strategies involve a number of tactics, many of them proving to be extremely costly and ineffective. One of the many examples can be found in the use of drug-sniffing dogs to ‘detect’ the presence of cannabis.

For those who may be unfamiliar with how dogs are used for this purpose, a dog is typically paraded around a vehicle or structure, and if it ‘alerts’ its handler, that is all the law enforcement entity needs to basically do whatever they want to the person being subjected to the drug dog search.

According to a recent study in Australia that examined nearly 100,000 search cases, the dogs provided false alerts 75% of the time. Below is more information about it via a news release from NORML:

Sydney, Australia: Drug sniffing dogs provide false alerts approximately seventy-five percent of the time, according to an analysis of ten years of data recently provided to members of the Australian Parliament.

The analysis reviewed over 94,000 searches. The overwhelming majority of those searches failed to identify the presence of illegal substances.

According to reporting in The Sydney Morning Herald, “The worst year for drug-detection dogs was 2014, when only 21 percent of the 14,213 searches resulted in illicit drugs being found; the best was two years later in 2016, where 32.5 percent of the 8746 searches were accurate.”

The findings of the analysis are consistent with those of prior studies. An analysis conducted by reporters at The Chicago Tribune similarly reported that drug sniffing dogs false-alerted over half of time, and that they were most likely to do so in instances where the suspect was Latino. Another study, this one published in the journal Animal Cognition, reported that drug dogs frequently falsely alert when their handlers perceive that illicit substances are present. “Handler beliefs affect outcomes of scent detection dog deployments,” the study’s authors concluded.

Nonetheless, the US Supreme Court has previously ruled that an alert from a police dog during a traffic stop provides a constitutional basis for law enforcement to search the interior of the vehicle.

Cannabis Opponents Fail To Block Cannabis Legalization In Germany

Written by Johnny Green on October 2, 2023. Posted in Policy.

As cannabis modernization efforts continue to work their way through the political process in Germany, one major hurdle that worried some cannabis policy observers inside and outside of Germany was the Federal Council (or Bundesrat) review component of the process.

Cannabis opponents within the Federal Council made it clear that they intended to derail legalization when provided the opportunity, but fortunately, they did not succeed. On Friday the Federal Council considered the measure that was previously approved by the Federal Cabinet, and while amendments were approved, an outright blockage did not receive enough support.

Bavaria’s representative filed a motion in an attempt to stall the measure, however, that motion was rejected. Various other amendments were also rejected, including one that would have increased the legal age for adult-use cannabis, as first reported by Marijuana Moment.

One area that representatives did agree on was the role of individual states regarding administrative costs to implement and carry out national legalization. In total, 81 recommended amendments were adopted by the chamber, and they will now go to the Federal Cabinet for consideration and response.

The battle is far from over, however, national legalization in Germany passed a major procedural step and that is worthy of celebrating. Below is a response put out by our friends at DHV after the proceedings:

On Friday, the Federal Council decided on its statement on the CanG. Thanks to your help, the decisions were significantly milder than was feared. Over 8,000 people took part in our campaign and sent emails to the traffic light groups.

A total of 81 points of criticism of the planned CanG found a majority in the Federal Council’s specialist committees, which meant that they were put on the Bundesrat’s agenda as a draft resolution. These included many points that called for the law to be tightened.

In addition to the 81 points that had been decided, a single motion was submitted for a vote again, even though it had not found a majority in the committee: The CSU absolutely wanted to have the motion voted on again so that the Federal Council fundamentally rejects the law completely. This means that the radical anti-cannabis party from Bavaria has failed. The demand to declare the law requiring approval also did not find a majority. A number of other repressive requests were rejected. Before the vote, the state parliamentary groups obviously looked at which resolutions should be blocked, certainly strongly motivated by thousands of emails on the topic. You can find out which resolutions were rejected, which ones made it through and what it all means in the DHV news. The law will be officially introduced into the Bundestag on October 13th, perhaps garnished with a few speeches before it goes on to committees for discussion.

The CSU wants to be the biggest opponent of cannabis reform. Every week, Bavaria’s Health Minister Holetschek (CSU) drives a new pig through the village. Last week it was announced that they wanted to combat cannabis consumption with a central control unit if the law were to pass despite Bavaria’s resistance. This anti-cannabis authority should also be responsible for applications from cannabis social clubs. Meanwhile, party leader Söder is having a bullshit duel with Free Voters leader Aiwanger while Oktoberfest is in full swing: Who has the stupidest arguments against cannabis legalization? We are now responding to this special role of the Bavarian government with a poster campaign in Bavaria around the state elections next weekend:

“Time for legalization! Cannabis belongs to Bavaria. Longer than the CSU!”

Our advertising columns are already at the start in Munich. The first photo of this reached us via tweet from Carmen Wegge (SPD), who chose our poster directly in front of the Bavarian State Parliament for the picture above. Your Christmas donations made this campaign possible! If you spot one, please send us photos of the posters and information about the location to kontakt@hanfverband.de . In addition to Munich, it will be from October 6th. there will be further posters in Fürth, Ingolstadt and Augsburg. These posters will still be hanging after the election and will help the CSU interpret the expected voter losses.

Hempy greetings,
your DHV team

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Cannabis Consumers Less Likely To Suffer From Kidney Stones Per China Researchers

Written by Frank Schuler on October 2, 2023. Posted in Science.

Kidney stones are not new to humans. In fact, references to kidney stones go as far back as ancient Mesopotamia, with references made in medical texts dating as far back as 3200 BC. Kidney stones involve the formation and occasional passage of crystal agglomerates in a person’s urinary tract.

The condition is associated with being a risk factor for other health conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, bone problems, and chronic kidney disease. Conversely, these conditions and others also serve as risk factors for developing kidney stones.

Men are more likely to develop kidney stones than women, with elderly men being the most likely to develop the condition. Researchers in China recently examined kidney stone rates among men who use cannabis versus those men who do not consume cannabis. Below is more information about it via a news release from NORML:

Sichuan, China: Men who consume cannabis are far less likely than non-users to experience kidney stones, according to data published in the journal Frontiers in Pharmacology.

A team of Chinese investigators assessed the relationship between cannabis use and kidney stones in a representative sample of over 14,000 US subjects between the ages of 20 and 59.

After adjusting for potential confounders, researchers reported that marijuana use among men was inversely correlated with kidney stones (OR = 0.72). Men who consumed cannabis most frequently experienced the lowest risk (OR = 0.62). Similar trends were not identified among females.

Authors concluded: “To our knowledge, this study is the first cross-sectional study to explore the association between marijuana use and the risk of kidney stones from the population-based NHANES [National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey] dataset. Taken together, our findings suggested that regular marijuana male users were related to a lower risk of kidney stones. Further studies are warranted to investigate the dose and type associations of marijuana with kidney stones.”

Full text of the study, “Association between marijuana use and kidney stones: A cross-sectional study of NHANES 2009 to 2018,” appears in Frontiers in Pharmacology.