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Will The NBA Reform Its Cannabis Policy?

Written by Johnny Green on . Posted in Business.

The National Basketball Association (NBA) is popular all over the globe. What once started as a North American sport has spread across the planet, resulting in the NBA now being comprised of players from countries from all over the world.

Look at any team’s roster and you will see players from a number of different countries, all of which have huge followings in their home countries. Because of that, cannabis policy reform in the NBA would provide a huge boost to cannabis reform efforts in every country that is represented by players in the league.

Currently, the NBA prohibits players from consuming cannabis with THC in it. As calls for cannabis reform in professional sports leagues have ramped up in recent years, along with the explosion in popularity for CBD products, there has been some confusion as to whether CBD is prohibited by major professional sports leagues.

For professional sports leagues that prohibit cannabis, drug testing policies are in place that seek to detect the presence of THC, and not CBD. Some CBD products contain trace amounts of THC, and that could result in a player failing a drug test due to THC build-up, but the failure would be due to the presence of THC, not CBD.

The current drug testing threshold for the NBA is very strict – a mere 15 ng/mL of THC metabolites. To put that number into perspective, Olympic athletes are held to a standard of 150 ng/mL. An NBA player that violates the league’s cannabis policy can be forced into a mandatory drug rehab program, and/or fined, and/or suspended. There are no exemptions for medical cannabis in the NBA.

The NBA commissioner that instituted the cannabis prohibition policy that is currently in place in the league is David Stern. While Stern served as the commissioner of the NBA he suspended players like retired NBA Allstar Clifford Robinson for cannabis use.

In Robinson’s case, he was suspended multiple times by the NBA for his cannabis use and was the recipient of a ridiculous amount of stigma from the league that still lingers to this day. Clifford Robinson was a featured speaker at our event in Portland, Oregon last year.

David Stern has since changed his stance on cannabis and is now calling for the NBA to reform its cannabis policy. Per CNBC:

“I think it’s time to take a whole new look at it,” Stern, 77, said in an interview Wednesday with CNBC at the SeventySix Capital Sports Innovation Conference in Philadelphia.

Stern said his feelings about marijuana have shifted with the recent surge in medical use of THC and CBD — the two main compounds in cannabis — to treat pain, anxiety and other ailments.

“In many cases in sports,” Stern said, “the opioid crisis begins with players being prescribed pills for their pain, and if there is another substance, whether it be CBD or THC that eases pain, then I’m all for it.”

David Stern joins a growing list of people (including regulators and politicians) that have had a change of heart when it comes to cannabis policy but only after they are no longer in a position to directly act on it. To date, David Stern has yet to issue an apology to the players that he punished for their cannabis use, or for any role that he may have played in contributing to the opioid crisis that he mentioned in his recent interview.

The NBA’s anti-cannabis league policy goes beyond just testing for THC. If a player is the subject of a cannabis offense away from the team, such as an arrest for cannabis possession, they can also be punished.

That policy perpetuates institutional racism, which is obviously unacceptable. If a player of color is statistically far more likely to be arrested for cannabis possession in society, and the league punishes players when they are subjected to those situations by law enforcement, then that same player of color is statistically far more likely to be punished for cannabis by the NBA compared to their caucasian peers.

Commissioner Stern may or may not be sincere in his calls for NBA cannabis reform, but regardless, his voice will hopefully provide a boost to reform efforts in the NBA, which will, in turn, provide a boost to reform efforts elsewhere if reform in the league is achieved.

When will the NBA end its harmful cannabis prohibition policy? Hopefully sooner rather than later, however, there is no current timetable for such a policy change. A lot of words have been said by the current NBA commissioner, however, meaningful actions have remained elusive.

Sport cannabis is a new frontier for the emerging cannabis industry, and if leagues like the NBA get on the right side of history, it will open up huge opportunities for players via endorsement deals, for cannabis companies that create products and services that cater to athletes, and ultimately the league itself will no doubt benefit via receiving a sizeable stream of new advertising revenue and revenue from partnership deals from the cannabis industry.

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South African Police Crack Down On Illicit Cannabis Industry

Written by Marguerite Arnold on . Posted in Business.

If there is a truism in the world of cannabis, it is that if you give the cannabis industry the slightest crack and it will flow through. That said for all the enthusiasm, there are still laws and regs to be followed.

In South Africa, the SAPS (the South African Police Service) has issued a warning that the entire cannabis industry is essentially under watch, and notably, the establishment of any brick and mortar retail site, online platforms, and social media promotions are all still illegal.

This warning does not apply of course to medicines authorized by the Medicines and Related Substances Act. Further, while growing and consuming cannabis at home in private is now legit, doing so in public with any substance with more than 0.1% of THC is still a crime.

Naturally of course, just as in other places this will be hard to enforce, particularly beyond urban areas. The country has always seen cannabis production, albeit mostly of the illicit kind. Stop an individual in the street with flower, however, in this environment and it could just as easily be CBD.

Stopping the profusion of online media, whether it is deemed “advertising” or not, will also prove tricky in a world where such promotion can be international.

That said, it also appears that the South African government is trying to get a handle not only on domestic production but imports into the country and of the medical and CBD kind. To do so legally, one must possess a valid license.

Current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) are also very much in the room, particularly as the country is considering exports to the rest of the world – namely the much-vaunted European medical market.

However, no matter how well planned the transition is supposed to be, it is also clear that South Africans, like just about everyone else, are a bit ahead of the politicians.

Putting the cannabis genie back in its bottle, in other words, is harder than it sounds, and in truth, almost impossible to stop once the ball (as in South Africa’s case too) actually gets rolling, no matter how many police warnings are issued.

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Would The CBD Revolution Have Occurred Without The Internet?

Written by Johnny Green on . Posted in Business.

The internet has revolutionized the way people get information, and that is true for cannabis information just as it is for everything else. Positive information about cannabis was purposefully suppressed for many decades around the world for political purposes.

That strategy has become increasingly difficult to carry out because of how easily accessible cannabis information is on the internet. Cannabis advocates can find answers to virtually any cannabis questions and can then disseminate that information all over the web for others to benefit from.

It is likely not a coincidence that cannabis reform victories have paralleled the rise in popularity of the internet. Popularity for CBD has specifically spiked in recent years, and it is likely that the internet has played a huge role in that rise in popularity. Read more about it in our recent article on Cannabis & Tech Today.

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Canada: Seniors Are The Age Group Showing The Most Growth In Cannabis Usage

Written by Johnny Green on . Posted in Business.

For decades people were inundated with anti-cannabis propaganda all over the planet. That unfortunate phenomena still exists in many parts of the world, however, an increasing number of countries are choosing to reform their cannabis laws.

Canada is one of those countries, having been home to a large medical cannabis community for a while now and having become the first G-7 nation to legalize cannabis for adult-use last year. Uruguay legalized cannabis for adult use prior to Canada doing so, however, it does not have as robust of a regulated cannabis industry as Canada does.

The stigma is fading in Canada now that people are seeing that the sky hasn’t fallen post-legalization.

Typically the older a person is, the less likely they are to support cannabis reform and/or personally consume cannabis, and while that’s still the case in Canada, seniors are now the fastest-growing cannabis consumer age group according to data recently released by Statistics Canada:

Cannabis use is less common among seniors than it is in other age groups (7%, compared with 10% at ages 45 to 64, 25% at ages 25 to 44, and 26% at ages 15 to 24). However, cannabis consumption among seniors has been accelerating at a much faster pace than it has among other age groups. For example, in 2012, less than 1% of seniors (about 40,000) reported using, contrasting sharply with estimates from 2019 indicating that more than 400,000 seniors have used cannabis in the past three months.

The increasing popularity of cannabis among older adults has also contributed to an increase in the average age of cannabis users, which has risen from 29.4 years in 2004 to 38.1 in 2019.

The data released by Statistics Canada demonstrated that 27% of the consumers in the senior age group were brand new cannabis consumers. The data also demonstrated that seniors were less frequent users compared to younger age groups, that they were more likely to use cannabis for medical reasons compared to other age groups, and that they were much more likely to exclusively make their purchases from legal sources.

Cannabis stigma has been much more prevalent in decades past, which is reflected in this data. Younger consumers were not subjected to as much reefer madness as older generations, and so it’s not a coincidence that younger people are more likely to have consumed cannabis than older citizens.

But as the stigma continues to fade and seniors share their positive cannabis experiences with other seniors, the consumption rates for the senior age group will continue to rise, which is not a bad thing at all.

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The German Cannabis Market Is Projected To Reach $16B By 2028

Written by Johnny Green on . Posted in Business.

Germany is home to the largest legal cannabis market in Europe, which is not surprising given the fact that Germany has the fourth-largest economy on the planet. Germany’s population is more than twice that of the state of California.

In addition to Germany’s medical cannabis industry expanding, lawmakers in Germany are reportedly exploring the idea of legalizing cannabis for adult-use. Obviously, if that happens Germany’s legal cannabis industry will increase in size dramatically.

How big will Germany’s legal cannabis industry get? A new projection has been released by Prohibition Partners in regards to Germany’s cannabis industry, and it involves an eye-popping figure. Read more about it in our recent article on Cannabis & Tech Today.

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The Cannabis Industry Is Giving Old Security Technology New Life

Written by Johnny Green on . Posted in Business.

Technology is an evolving thing in virtually every industry on the planet, and security technology is no exception. Facilities have become high-tech and have incorporated surveillance and biometric technology that is like something straight out of a James Bond film.

The technology revolution in the security industry, combined with changes in public policy and an increased reliance on the internet, has resulted in many correctional institutions and financial facilities going vacant.

In years past those types of facilities would have been bulldozed and replaced with more modern structures. However, thanks to the cannabis industry those facilities and the basic security features that they possess are being given new life.

Read about how former prisons, banks, and other secure facilities are being put to use by the emerging cannabis industry in our recent article on Cannabis & Tech Today.

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The SAFE Banking Act Would Be A Game-Changer For Banking Technology

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

In order for the U.S. cannabis industry to reach its full potential, it needs access to the nation’s banking system at the same level that other legal industries have. Because the international banking system is so closely tied to the U.S. banking system, cannabis industries in other nations need banking reform to occur in the U.S. just as badly as the U.S. cannabis industry.

Right now a bill is being considered by the United States Senate that would provide comprehensive banking reform for the emerging cannabis industry. The Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act of 2019 has already passed in the United States House. It is expected that President Trump would sign the legislation if it made it to his desk.

If the SAFE Banking Act passes and becomes law, it will do more than just allow cannabis companies to make deposits into checking accounts. The reform measure would be a game-changer for technologies that are geared towards supporting the banking industry.

Read more in our article published by Cannabis & Tech Today.

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What Is Going On With Portugal’s Cannabis Industry?

Written by Marguerite Arnold on . Posted in Business.

Licensing is underway in Portugal, although the competition is as fierce as it is in many other markets. The government changes rules, slowly, then opens up the gates and then everyone rushes (or tries to rush in).

The interesting thing about Portugal right now from an international perspective (certainly in Europe) is how the country is starting to pivot to cannabis production that is licensed, medical, and bound for export.

But how will freewheeling, “all drugs are decriminalized” Portugal really stack up against other contenders moving into this space, such as Spain, Greece, Poland and (North) Macedonia? They all have great weather, cheap labour rates (or at least cheaper than Germany and the UK), and are closer to Europe than Canada, Latin America, or Africa.

Is freewheeling Portugal really all its cracked up to be? Not really, and politically the current temperature is bound for a backlash. It is one thing to decriminalize all drugs. It is another thing to deal with those who use them irresponsibly.

And then there is this – between 2012 and 2017, statistics for alcohol, tobacco, and drug use in the general population have actually risen 23%. There has been just under a 2% increase in the use of psychoactive drugs in the same period.

While this could also be traced to the economic meltdown that hit many less prosperous countries in Europe hard during that time period, it is not a great PR moment for the canna cause.

Further, Portugal is not entirely copacetic on the idea of actually legalizing medical or recreational cannabis use (including grow your own). It hasn’t really happened yet.

Democratizing The Weed

No matter the impressive stats that the industry is starting to chalk up, there is far from democratic access to the plant, and that exists almost nowhere, even when governments are responsible for sales (as is the case in Europe).

How should the involved parties proceed? Everyone needs to get paid.

Many of these issues, in truth, will continue to evolve. In the future, assuming there is a survival of government health care, expect these themes to belong in the room. How much money medical cannabis can actually save health insurers is still a conversation for the future. However, conversations like this will not occur in an environment where the plant and products created from it are seen as “expensive.”

The Portuguese experiment is an intriguing situation that has already begun to impact the discussion across the continent, and will for a long time to come. Going forward it is clear that even the relatively freewheeling country of Portugal is starting to look at the entire discussion with a bit more of a conservative viewpoint.

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Cannabis The Commodity – Crisis Or Opportunity?

Written by Marguerite Arnold on . Posted in Business.

It has now been almost six years since Colorado started its recreational cannabis experiment on the state level. In Canada, it’s been a year. But what is on the table now that cannabis is becoming commoditized – for good and for bad?

1. The sickest, poorest patients are generally not obtaining adequate access anywhere. This is because, while cannabis might be on the way to being commoditized, it is still expensive, even in Canada where prices are dropping. Why is that? Sick people, with little to no income, cannot afford their medication.

2. A growing list of countries are looking at the equation now as a way to boost income and taxes. Unfortunately, like in Poland where patients currently face a 23% tax on their meds, that is a bad model. Taxing the sick is one of the stupidest ways to raise public revenue, especially if those individuals are also on disability benefits. When one looks at the Dutch model, in particular, it is very clear that the country had little intention of keeping patients covered under health insurance when it was more advantageous to force Dutch patients into the recreational market and export the medical crops grown in-country across borders for a higher price. That is not a cannabis industry discussion, it is a policy one (but one, so far, that has not been addressed anywhere) In the U.S. and Canada, it is worse. In part, because many politicians want to distance themselves from the discussion and figure that giving a few more giveaways to corporations and the 1% is a good idea. Unfortunately, it’s business as usual.

3. Licensing and certification fees are the name of the game for governments determined to participate in the cannabis miracle anyway that they can, even if at a distance. But in every country, these fees are exorbitant, essentially creating an industry run by the white, the rich, and, no surprise, predominantly male population.

4. The “industry” cannot widely fix these problems. It is ludicrous to expect a still partly illegal, if not grey, market to regulate itself. However, governments are equally reluctant to get their hands dirty on this one. This leads to all sorts of market disruptions – not to mention outright embarrassing flameouts (see CannTrust).

5. The idea of making huge amounts of money on cannabis is an idea that is slowly dying. Although, of course, those in the room first, via various dubious equity raising techniques like reverse mergers, are the ones who have shoved everyone else out so far and gained market share. That is unlikely to continue. After all, who thinks of getting rich off of tomatoes? No one.