First up was DeVaughn Ward, MPP’s Senior Legislative Counsel, who started the conference by speaking about the importance of introducing successful legislation as soon as possible. “Marijuana prohibition has caused immeasurable harm to our communities, particularly communities of color,” said Ward. “Cannabis legalization is an opportunity to stop the harm to our residents and the waste of limited public safety resources.”

Next, Drug Policy Forum of Hawaii’s Nikos Leverenz described upcoming cannabis legislation as a “critical opportunity” for legislators to address the needs of those affected by the War on Drugs. “Hawaii’s cannabis policy should center the needs of those damaged by the continued criminalization of cannabis and draconian drug law enforcement,” said Leverenz. “At the same time, a properly regulated adult-use market will create many quality jobs and business opportunities across the state, including those related to cannabis tourism, craft cannabis, and cannabis science.”

He also noted that in his official statement to the press, he asked that if the red state of Missouri can legalize cannabis, what’s stopping Hawaii from moving forward. He explained that cannabis plants would thrive in Hawaii, especially if they brought in craft cannabis growers, the industry could contribute to a strong tourism sector for the state. “Hawaii has a rare opportunity this year to move forward and to protect public health and to create quality jobs and economic opportunity across the state, including our neighbor island communities,” he concluded.

George Cordero from ACLU Hawaii spoke on the inhumane conditions of confinement in overpopulated Hawaii prisons due to low-level cannabis convictions, and the long-term effects of having cannabis on a personal record. “Having a marijuana conviction on your record can make it extremely difficult to get employment, apply for a credit card, secure housing, for work the rest of your life,” Cordero said. “This is why clearing people’s marijuana convictions is a necessary condition to this legalization measure.”

Kapela took the stage. “We all know, and Hawaii’s people know, that it is high time to legalize recreational cannabis use for adults in Hawaii. This year we stand on the precipice of history,” she explained. “Following the recommendations of a task force devoted to addressing cannabis policy, we now have a roadmap for legalizing recreational cannabis in our islands,” Kapela said, referring to a report published by the Hawaii Department of Health cannabis task force in December 2022.

Kapela did not specify a timeline for when her bill would be proposed, but explained a few key points, including helping the state’s mass incarceration dilemma by issuing a mass expungement program. “Social equity. People. That is what forms the heart of our proposal,” she explained.

Previously in March 2021, the Hawaii Senate approved two cannabis reform bills that ultimately did not move forward.

Former Hawaii Gov. David Ige was not a stark supporter of cannabis legalization, and often stated his hesitancy because of its federally illegal status. However, he did allow a bill to be passed without his signature in January 2020, which decriminalized cannabis in the state.
However, newly elected Gov. Josh Green said in November 2022 that he would sign a legalization bill. “I think that people already have moved past that culturally as a concern,” Green said during a debate in October 2022. “But here’s what I would do. First of all, if marijuana is legalized, it should be very carefully monitored, and only done like cigarettes, or I’ve been very careful to regulate tobacco over the years. We should take the $30 to $40 million of taxes we would get from that and invest in the development and recreation of our mental healthcare system for the good of all.”

The post Hawaii Representative Announces Plan To Legalize Pot in 2023 appeared first on High Times.

“Over the past four years, the data collected under the Racial and Identity Profiling Act has provided empirical evidence showing disparities in policing throughout California,” the report states. “This year’s data demonstrates the same trends in disparities for all aspects of law enforcement stops, from the reason for stop to actions taken during stop to results of stop.”

The report spans stop data that occurred between January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021, and analyzes information from 58 law enforcement agencies and the negative impacts of citizen interactions with police, with a focus on youth.

In the 2021 timeframe, more than 3.1 million stops were reported. In terms of “perceived” race or ethnicity, police agencies states that 42.2% were Hispanic/Latine(x), 30% white, 15% Black, 5.3% Asian, 4.8% Middle Eastern/South Asian, 1% multiracial, 0.5% Pacific Islander, and 0.3% Native American. Additionally, 72.1% were cisgendered male and 27.5% cisgendered female, making up 99.7% of all stops.

Reasons for a law enforcement “stop” include either a traffic violation (86.6%), or a reasonable suspicion of being engaged in criminal activity (10.5%). Black individuals had the highest percentage of stops in regard to “reasonable suspicion” at 16.2%, but also the lowest proportion of stops for traffic violations (80.5%).

The RIPA Board found that Black and Hispanic/Latine(x) individuals were more likely to have force used against them compared to White individuals. Black teens between the ages of 10-14 and 15-17 experienced the highest rate of being searched by police (20.1%), detained (17.9%), and handcuffed (15.4%), and “removed from a vehicle by order” (7.6%).

Black adolescents were detained curbside or in a patrol car 36.2%-44.5% of the time, searched 39.9%-42.4% of the time, handcuffed 33.5-36.5% of the time. Ultimately, this data shows that teens who are perceived to be Black were searched six times the rate of White adolescents, and those perceived to be Hispanic/Latine(x) were searched four times more.

The interactions that teens have with law enforcement, including repeat interactions, impact those individuals’ mental health. “Research shows that the types of contact and frequency of involuntary contacts with law enforcement may have a harmful impact on the individual stopped, triggering stress responses, depressive symptoms, anxiety, and other related negative mental health impacts,” the report states. “This research suggests that racial and identity profiling goes beyond the criminal legal system and policing; it is also a critical public health issue.”

“Based on the research, the Board believes that public health officials and policymakers should treat racial and identity profiling and adverse policing as significant public health issues. It is imperative to recognize that police interactions can negatively affect the mental and physical health of individuals who are Black, Hispanic/Latine(x), Indigenous, and people of color. Doing so could help significantly reduce the high stress, community fragmentation, and poor health outcomes among community members who experience targeting of their neighborhoods and aggressive policing practices. Given this, adequate resources should be invested to understand and address the health implications of racial and identity profiling.”

This report covers a variety of information relative to the discussion of how law enforcement abuses the system through pretextual stops or searches, an act where an officer stops an individual for a minor violation in order to closer “investigate a hunch regarding a different crime that by itself would not amount to reasonable suspicion or probable cause.”

While the report does not specifically delve into details in regards to cannabis, The Washington Post published a story in October 2022 about the racial disparities in law enforcement in Virginia. Although the state legalized adult-use cannabis in July 2021, the article put a spotlight on how Virginia police are still more likely to arrest Black people more than White people for cannabis-related offenses.

An analysis of cannabis arrests by the New York Police Department (NYPD) in 2020 showed that 94% of all cannabis-related arrests impacted people of color. Overall, cannabis arrests by the NYPD in 2022 have been reduced, but arrests were still higher for those perceived as Black or Hispanic.

In April 2020, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) published an extensive report showing the disparity of arrests for Black individuals, showing that arrests are still widespread and racial disparities are still common throughout the country, both in states with legal or decriminalized cannabis.

The post Study Reveals California Law Enforcement More Likely To Arrest Black Teens appeared first on High Times.

The last week of sales by day leading up to Dec. 25 were notably high, starting at $3.2 million on Monday, Dec. 12 reaching a height of $5.1 million on Saturday, Dec. 17, and dropping to $4 million on Dec. 18. Consumers mainly purchased flower during this week specifically, with a total of over $11 million, followed by vape-related products at $6 million, and pre-rolls and edibles nearly the same, both around $4 million each.

Massachusetts legalized adult-use cannabis in November 2018, and since then the state has collected $3.9 billion in total gross sales. It first reached the $1 billion mark in October 2020, then $2 billion in July 2021, and $3 billion in May 2022.

Medical cannabis sales in 2022 during the same period reached $260.2 million, although a gradual decline is seen after the highest medical sales months of March and April, which collected $24.7 million and $24.4 million respectively. The Massachusetts CCC’s graph generally shows a decrease in sales from that point, down to $20.6 million in November, and finally $12.1 million in December.

Gross medical cannabis sales just hit $929.6 million this December, which still reflects steady overall growth since November 2018. Although medical cannabis went live in Massachusetts in January 2013, sales data prior to November 2018 is not available prior to when the CCC took control over the Medical Use of Marijuana Program.

Over the past four years since adult-use cannabis began, the cost of flower has decreased over time. With a few exceptions in March, April and May 2020 due to the pandemic, the average price of flower per gram has remained around $14 until June 2021. After that point, price per gram continued to decrease every month, landing at $7.76 per gram in November 2022, and increasing slightly to $8.07 in November 2022. This coincides with CCC data showing the state’s history with cannabis cultivation. In terms of plants harvested, the state began with only 79 plants in November 2018; followed by 247,793 in November 2019; 699,938 in November 2020; 1,413,311 in November 2021; and finally a huge jump to 2,655,494 plants in November 2022.

According to Boston.com, Brandon Pollock, CEO of Theory Wellness, said that the completion of many cultivation facilities over the last year has contributed to the imbalance of supply and demand. “The last 12 months have been fairly drastic. I’d say on the wholesale market, prices might be down approximately 50% in one year, which is, for folks that are only on the cultivation side of the business, especially difficult,” Pollock told Boston.com.

Joseph Lekach, CEO of Apothca, also explained that this imbalance has been present for some time. “A year and a half, two years, three years ago, it wasn’t good either. It was unbalanced to the high side, now it’s unbalanced for the low side. So this is temporarily good from a customer’s perspective,” Lekach told Boston.com. “But a lot of manufacturers and cultivators will cut costs wherever they can just to stay alive. You’re going to have an inferior product coming out. It’s a double-edged sword.”

Lekach also estimated that based on this current trend, many cannabis companies will be out of business by next year. “We have no idea where the bottom is going to be. I think that there’s a lot of companies suffering because of this,” said Lekach. “I think you’re going to see a lot of companies going out of business probably next year and into 2024.”

The post Massachusetts Adult-Use Cannabis Reaches Nearly $4 Billion in 2022 appeared first on High Times.

According to the Des Moines Register, the number of patients has increased significantly as well. In December 2021, the Iowa cardholder number reached 7,800, but by November 2022 the number of cardholders hit 15,000. Currently, the state lists 51.1% of patients as male, 48.5% as female, and 0.4% as non-binary.

Currently, most of Iowa medical cannabis patients reside in Polk County, which is also the location of the state capital with 5,112 patients, followed by Linn County (833 patients), Black Hawk County (670), Woodbury County (645), and Johnson County (612).

The state’s number of caregivers, or people who assist patients that are “too ill, immobilized or otherwise unable to visit a dispensary,” has risen as well. Caregiver cards also increased, with 2,300 registered caregivers in December 2021, and 3,000 in November 2022.

The top condition that patients have registered for includes chronic pain, with an estimated 10,000 individuals, followed by post-traumatic dress disorder with approximately 2,800 cardholders. Since the state’s medical cannabis program launched in November 2018, it has issued more than 32,000 medical cannabis cards.

The Des Moines Register also reports that as of November 2022, 1,920 health care professionals (defined as either a physician, physician assistant, advanced registered nurse practitioner, or podiatrist) have “signed off” on at least one patient using cannabis to treat their condition (compared to only 300 health care practitioners in December 2021).

In terms of products purchased, “vaporizable” products are the most popular at 66.4%, followed by capsules/tablets (24.6%), tinctures (6.4%), and topicals (2.5%). Approximately 77.9% of patients choose products with high THC, 13.2% prefer a balanced ratio of THC to CBD, and 8.9% choose high CBD.

A large majority of patients suffering from conditions such as AIDS/HIV, ALS, Crohn’s disease, seizures, and ulcerative colitis chose high THC products. The only exception is an even split for those who suffer from Parkinson’s disease (37% prefer THC/CBD products, and 38% prefer high THC products).

While medical cannabis is thriving in Iowa, efforts to legalize adult-use cannabis have not yielded results. Earlier last year, Iowan advocates from the Campaign for Sensible Cannabis Laws launched an effort to legalize cannabis. “Cannabis reform is sweeping the country. From ruby red South Dakota and Montana to perpetually blue New York and New Jersey, majorities from across the political spectrum are voting for reform. In some states it’s a stronger medical program,” said campaign founder Bradley Knott. “In other states voters have gone all in for both medical and recreational cannabis. In Iowa, we don’t have a choice. We don’t even have a voice.”

In September 2022, Iowa Libertarian governor candidate Rick Stewart called out fellow candidate Republican Kim Reynolds (who later won as governor in November) on her opposition to legal cannabis. “What the hell, Kim?” Stewart said in a video. “Here I am in Illinois—why, only a few miles from the Iowa border—and they’ve got legal cannabis.”

He described the stark difference between the laws between the two states while standing in front of a bridge that connects Iowa to Illinois. “If I buy weed on this side of the bridge, I’m buying it from a crook. If I buy weed on that side of the bridge, I’m buying it from a reputable business person,” Stewart said.

Iowa’s southern neighbor of Missouri recently has an adult-use cannabis program that went live in December 2022 as well.

The post Iowa Medical Cannabis Program Continues To Rise With $10 Million in Sales appeared first on High Times.

After concluding the briefing, Beshear took questions from the press. Al Cross, a professor at the University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media who also writes for the Northern Kentucky Tribune, asked about the lack of convenience for those seeking to obtain medical cannabis.

“The executive order isn’t going to make it convenient for anyone on the medical marijuana front. What it will ensure is that they’re not a criminal,” Beshear said. “And that’s the limitations that I have in executive power and the limitations that other states have set if we don’t have our own full program. And it’s why it’s so important that the legislature go ahead and pass medical marijuana.”

Beshear shared that his administration is working on putting together regulations for Delta-8 products, which was recently ruled legal by a Northern Kentucky circuit judge. He also explained that the legislature needs to do its part to assist patients throughout the state by passing an official medical cannabis program.

“I want our people to be able to get it close to home, I don’t want them to have to drive to Illinois. That takes an act of the legislature,” Beshear said. “I am the first to admit the executive order is imperfect because the legislature should have done this a long time ago, but it’s also fluent. And just by reissuing an additional executive order, we can shore up anything that we have the ability to, as we have those discussions with other states.

Beshear mentioned that soon there will be a “palm card” issued to law enforcement next week to educate them about what the executive order accomplishes. “Also the palm card for law enforcement will be out there by Jan. 4. First, it is very simple,” Beshear briefly explained. “But just talking to the Mothers for Medical Marijuana the other day, [the] executive order is a step they find exciting and provides some comfort that they won’t be prosecuted, but it’s not the answer. But I do hope it provides pressure.”

According to WHAS11, Beshear described the palm card as a checklist for law enforcement to work through, including showing a receipt that states where a product was purchased.

Recently, advocates from Kentucky Moms for Medical Cannabis and Kentucky NORML spent time in the Kentucky capitol building hanging more than 350 images of patients with chronic conditions who benefitted from access to medical cannabis. Beshear visited the exhibit on Dec. 28 to meet with those advocates. “Many Kentuckians with chronic pain are suffering and searching for relief. Today I visited with Moms for Cannabis, advocates who are looking for health solutions that don’t sacrifice quality of life—something medical cannabis can deliver,” Beshear wrote on Twitter. 

Julie Cantwell from Kentucky Moms for Medical Cannabis is hoping that the legislature takes action in 2023. “Year after year, we’re overlooked, and this year we’re hoping that the legislature is going to pass a medical cannabis bill,” Cantwell told WYMT. “So, a lot of these people you see on the wall can’t make it to Frankfort, so we’re bringing the people to Frankfort.”

The post Kentucky Governor Calls on Legislature To Push Medical Pot in 2023 appeared first on High Times.

The OHA’s final rules were created through recommendations from the Oregon Psilocybin Advisory Board, the Rules Advisory Committee, and public comments. Initially the OHA released its first subset of rules in May 2022, and with the final rules now in place, Oregon Psilocybin Services (OPS) will begin accepting applications for four license types starting on Jan. 2, 2023.

According to a letter co-written by André Ourso, Administrator of the Center for Health Protection, and Angie Allbee, Section Manager for OPS:

“OPS received over 200 written comments and six hours of comments shared in the public hearings during the November 2022 public comment period,” wrote Ourso and Allbee. “These comments helped to further refine and improve the rules, which have now been adopted as final. The final rules are a starting place for the nation’s first regulatory framework for psilocybin services, and we will continue to evaluate and evolve this work as we move into the future.”

These new rules include an option for microdosing with the hope that it will “increase access, equity, and affordability while ensuring public safety.” “The final rules on duration of administrative sessions have been revised to create a new tier for subperceptual doses. These doses are defined as products containing less than 2.5 mg of psilocybin analyte. After a client’s initial session, the minimum duration for a subperceptual dose of 2.5 mg of psilocybin analyte or less is 30 minutes.”

The OPS also established rules to create translated materials in English, Spanish, along with interpretation materials to best serve a wide variety of potential patients. The agency also created numerous rules to address confidentiality of client data, improvements to the application form, and certain limitations for applicants if they have recently had thoughts about causing harm to themselves, or are pregnant or breastfeeding.

As for fees, the OPS will offer less expensive options to those who qualify, with the opportunity to consider making the service more affordable in the future. “The final rules include reduced license fees for applicants who are veterans, receiving social security income, receiving food stamp benefits, or are enrolled in the Oregon Health Plan,” the OPS letter states. “Creating a more complicated tiered license fee structure is not feasible due to the work required to identify appropriate tiers and evaluate license applications and supporting documentation. This work would require more staff capacity, which would result in higher license fees overall.”

With applications opening in less than a week, the OPS letter signs off with a hopeful statement. “OPS will strive to support applicants in navigating license application requirements and will continue to provide technical assistance as we launch the nation’s first regulatory and licensing framework for psilocybin services,” the letter concludes.

Meanwhile in cannabis, end-of-year analysis discuss the past year’s oversupply issues. The Oregon Office of Economic Analysis (OEA) released a forecast in December covering a wide variety of businesses in Oregon, including cannabis. “Now, this is great news for consumers who can enjoy widely available products at low prices,” OEA economists wrote about the cannabis industry. “This is bad news for firms trying to operate a profitable business. One challenge there is even as businesses do leave the market, to date there has always been another willing to step in and take their place.”

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Specifically, this update pertains to U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved products that contain CBD, or topical, hemp-derived CBD products with 0.3% or less THC. “Certain formats, including YouTube Masthead, will not be eligible for serving. CBD will be removed from the Unapproved Pharmaceuticals and Supplements list. All ads promoting other CBD-based products, including supplements, food additives, and inhalants, continue to be disallowed,” Google states.

Google is partnering with LegitScript to create a certification program for non-ingestible CBD manufacturers. LegitScript CEO Scott Roth explained how the certification aims to create a standard for the cannabis industry. “When people see the LegitScript seal on your product or website, they know that you operate safely and transparently,” said Roth. “In an industry that is still seeing widespread problems with products that are tainted, substandard, or illegal, it’s more important than ever to give consumers confidence that the CBD products they’re purchasing have been properly vetted.”

LegitScript works with other payment service providers such as Visa, Google, Bing, and Facebook. “LegitScript Certification lets the world know which healthcare merchants, CBD products and websites, and drug and alcohol addiction treatment facilities operate safely and transparently,” the company states in a press release. “The result? Certified merchants can stand out from the crowd, grow their online presence, and demonstrate credibility in high-risk industries. LegitScript is the leading third-party certification expert in these tightly regulated and complex sectors.”

LegitScript will charge a fee for processing and monitoring applicants (although the company’s website says that fees are waived through March 31, 2023). Applicants may submit their websites for a LegitScript certification in order to advertise on Google. After LegitScript certifies a website, they will be given “information on demonstrating your certified status,” such as a LegitScript “Seal of Approval” that can be displayed on a certified website.

LegitScript’s starting fees per CBD product vary between $650 for one to five products, decreasing for brackets including $600 for six to 50 products, $550 for 51 to 99, and finally $500 for 100 or more. There is also an annual monitoring fee that ranges between $750 to $1,000 depending on the number of CBD products as well. Full websites require an $800 fee per website, with either a $1,600 annual fee per website, or $2,250 annually for a “probationary website” for websites with “a past history of significant compliance issues.”

This move is a step in the right direction for hemp products, although there is currently no mention of expanding this new update to other states yet.

In the past, there have been some negative interactions between Google and cannabis-related content. In 2016, one Minnesota-based medical cannabis company fought against Google for banning it from advertising online due to having “dangerous products or services.” That same year, Google saw a 75% increase in cannabis searches online, and allowed games about the War on Drugs to be promoted on Google Play. 

In 2017, Google Docs temporarily labeled documents, including those relating to cannabis, as inappropriate (although the event was considered to be due to a coding error and was promptly fixed).

In July 2019, Google announced that cannabis products would be banned from the app store, and during the height of the vaping epidemic later that year, Apple also removed all vaping-related apps from the iOS store.

The post Google Updates Policy To Allow Hemp, CBD Products with Certification appeared first on High Times.

While it’s common to hear opponents of cannabis state that more research is necessary before legalization can occur, NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano released a statement to counter that argument. “Despite claims by some that marijuana has yet to be subject to adequate scientific scrutiny, scientists’ interest in studying cannabis has increased exponentially in recent years, as has our understanding of the plant, its active constituents, their mechanisms of action, and their effects on both the user and upon society,” Armentano said. “It is time for politicians and others to stop assessing cannabis through the lens of ‘what we don’t know’ and instead start engaging in evidence-based discussions about marijuana and marijuana reform policies that are indicative of all that we do know.”

NORML compiled numerous scientific studies involving cannabis between 2000-2021, exploring findings from studies on a wide variety of medical conditions such as chronic pain, Huntington Disease, insomnia, Multiple Sclerosis, post-traumatic stress disorder, and so much more. The review analyzes the evolution of researcher’s scope of cannabis. “As clinical research into the therapeutic value of cannabinoids has proliferated so too has investigators’ understanding of cannabis’ remarkable capacity to combat disease,” NORML wrote. “Whereas researchers in the 1970s, ’80s, and ’90s primarily assessed marijuana’s ability to temporarily alleviate various disease symptoms—such as the nausea associated with cancer chemotherapy—scientists today are exploring the potential role of cannabinoids to modulate disease.”

Even recently, the scientific community has released many intriguing cannabis studies in recent months. One recent study published in the Journal of Sleep Research found that cannabis was an effective treatment for insomnia, with researchers stating that participants experienced an 80% increase in sleep quality, and 60% were no longer classified as clinical insomnias following the end of the two-week study. Another study found evidence that cannabis has “uniquely beneficial effects” on those with bipolar disorder, while one found a link between cannabis consumption and physical activity in HIV+ patients. And there are many more studies underway, such as King’s College London which recently launched a massive 6,000-person study in September, with a goal of publishing early results in 2023 or 2024.

Cannabis is more mainstream than it has ever been before. President Joe Biden’s recent monumental signing of the Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act which “establishes a new registration process for conducting research on marijuana and for manufacturing marijuana products for research purposes and drug development.” Biden also signed an infrastructure bill in 2021, which contained provisions for cannabis. It states that in two years, the Attorney General and Secretary of Health and Human Services must submit a report that addresses how researchers can receive increased samples of various strains, establishing a “national clearinghouse” that will help researchers better distribute cannabis products for research, and an increased amount of samples for researchers who don’t live in states with medical or adult-use cannabis legalization. 

On the side, studies exploring the benefits of other psychedelic substances are also rising. One study in the journal Psychopharmacology found evidence that psilocybin can treat those with autism spectrum disorder. The University College of London released the results of a recent study as well, which analyzed brain imaging of consumers who attended psychedelic retreats. Another from the University of Melbourne explored how ayahuasca benefits outweigh the risks.

The post Cannabis Researchers Published 4,300 Scientific Papers in 2022 appeared first on High Times.

New Frontier Data argues that insurance companies could benefit the most from better understanding medical patients. “The Federal Schedule 1 status of cannabis means that it has no recognized medical value. At the same time, almost every state in the U.S. allows for some form of medical cannabis use,” the report states. “This contradiction has resulted in millions of medical cannabis patients with the approval to use cannabis by their state and their doctor, but no access to insurance reimbursement for this medicine, which is usually highly taxed.”

Among the most common conditions that medical patients treat with cannabis is pain (47% of surveyed participants), followed by anxiety/panic attacks (22%), depression (9%), sleep disorders (9%), PTSD (7%), neurological disorders (6%). Additionally, 93% of medical cannabis consumers say that cannabis has helped them, with 57% saying that it significantly improved their medical conditions (while only 36% say that it only slightly improved their condition).

Fifty percent of patients reported that they were currently using prescription drugs, mainly antidepressants (45%), muscle relaxers (27%), arthritis (23%), sleep (20%), and opioids for pain (17%). Over half of the patients also said that they have replaced some or all of their prescription medications with cannabis as well.

The federally illegal status of cannabis is a roadblock for many parts of the industry, but opinions about cannabis are rapidly changing. “This information is especially useful to insurance companies who might view cannabis as a medicine with less potential harm and therefore less cost to them than other medications,” the report explained. “Less harm may also be a driver for the medical cannabis consumer as only 40% say that saving money is a reason for the substitution.”

New Frontier Data also advises how brands can best cater to medical cannabis patients versus average recreational consumers. Both medical and recreational consumers prefer to consume cannabis on their own, or without others. In products with a hybrid of cannabinoid content, only 43% of medical consumers chose products with more THC than CBD, compared to 57% of recreational consumers. However, medical cannabis consumers led with 54% for products that had “slightly more CBD than THC,” and 57% with products that contained “much more CBD than THC.”

Overall, the report found that 55% of medical consumers believe it’s very important to consider minor cannabinoids or terpenes when making a purchase (with 23% saying “I don’t know what that is.”)

Retailers also stand to update their approach to serving medical cannabis patients, as they usually have strong loyalty to strains that they know are effective. Fifty-nine percent usually or always pick the same strain, while only 34% will alternate between options they are familiar with. Most consumers, both medical (52%) and recreational (50%), tend to spend around $50-$200 on cannabis products per month, while a lower percentage will spend more than $200 (30% for medical and 33% for recreational).

“With all the focus on adult use legalization and the recreational consumer, it can be easy to forget that there is a large population of consumers who rely on cannabis for their physical and mental health,” the report concluded. “And while some may argue that all cannabis use is medical, there are certainly distinguishing factors for medical consumers as evidenced above. As cannabis continues its march towards federal medical acceptance, insurance companies, brands and retailers should be aware of the needs of this group and how to meet them.”

The post New Report Analyzes Medical Pot Patients’ Consumption Habits appeared first on High Times.

Recently though, Apodaca was arrested for cannabis. There appears to be some dispute between the reasons for the arrest between the perspective of Apodaca and law enforcement.

According to local Idaho police, he was pulled over in his truck due to an expired registration sticker. TMZ broke the story, stating that the trooper allegedly smelled cannabis when he approached the vehicle. While Apodaca searched for his registration in his glove box, the police officer noticed edibles in Apodaca’s glove box, which prompted him to ask Apodaca to exit the truck.

Apodaca told the officer that there were cannabis products in his truck, including three packages of THC gummies, and a dabbing tool. The officer arrested him for possession of cannabis, as well as possession of drug paraphernalia. He was booked but also released on the same day with a $600 bond.

TMZ contacted Apodaca about the incident, who shared that from his perspective, things went differently. “During the arrest, the officers failed to read me my Miranda rights. Initially, when officers found weed they said they were only going to write a ticket. They then found a gun and told me I was under arrest because I had a felony on my record and I wasn’t allowed to possess a firearm. However, I do not have a felony on my record, which I told the officers,” Apodaca told TMZ. “Despite me telling them this, I was taken into custody. I was held in jail for several hours without bond before they told me they make [sic] a huge mistake. Then was told I was only being held on the weed charge and could bond out.”

In Idaho, three ounces or less is considered to be a misdemeanor, which can net offenders up to one year in jail, and up to a $1,000 fine. A felony charge would include possession of more than three ounces but less than one pound; it could lead to up to five years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine. Ideally, cannabis laws will be more forgiving in the future if medical cannabis is legalized. Advocates in Idaho are currently targeting 2024 as the year to push for medical cannabis on the ballot. Previously, Idaho has seen nearly a decade of attempts to legalize cannabis for medical use, but never quite garnered the necessary support. An organization called Kind Idaho is collecting signatures now to ensure that they have enough to qualify in 2024. “We want the opportunity for Idaho residents to succeed on their own terms. And for many of those people on their own terms, the best solution is medical marijuana,” said Kind Idaho Treasurer Joe Evans.

The post Doggface, Known for Viral TikTok Involving Cranberry Juice and Fleetwood Mac, Arrested for Pot appeared first on High Times.