Welcome to Senior Cannabis Digest. This week we look at purchasing cannabis online, treating the symptoms of MS with cannabis, cruise lines using dogs to search for drugs and more. Enjoy.
Tips on Trips
Mature consumers and others who plan to make cannabis part of their vacation plans should take note. Carnival Cruise Line has made it clear that it will continue to employ drug detection dogs at the port of embarkation on some cruises to search for marijuana and other drugs.
That’s the word from Sarah Bretz, writing for the online publication Cruise Radio.net. According to Bretz, the line’s brand ambassador, John Heald, recently posted the following on Facebook, “Let me say that they {the dogs} have, along with our no tolerance rules and enforcement, made a massive difference to the problem of people thinking it is legal and allowed to use marijuana on their cruise. It isn’t.”
Bretz makes the point that while cannabis is legal in some states, cruise lines follow federal law and since cannabis is not legal under federal law, it isn’t legal aboard cruise ships, regardless of a ship’s point of departure.
Yes, we know. Your cousin Ziggy regaled you with a story about feeling like a smuggler because he concealed a joint or two—we don’t want to know where—when he went on cruise and consumed them on the high seas, as it were.
Maybe.
However, the bigger picture is that cruise lines in general employ a zero-tolerance policy, display “Drug Free Zone” signs and have strict policies when it comes to passengers who break their code of conduct—and that includes the use of drugs.
While those policies don’t involve being marooned with a volleyball named Wilson, passengers found with contraband, such as cannabis, may be forced to leave the ship at the next port of call and possibly be banned from future cruises.
This policy may change in the future, but not yet.
To learn more, we suggest reading Sarah Bretz’s article in the May 25, 2023 issue of Cruise Radio.net.
cruiseradio.net/carnival-cruise-drug-detection-dogs
The Shape of Things to Come
Well, folks do say that you can purchase just about anything online. Now, if you live in Colorado, that “anything” includes cannabis.
Gov. Jared Polis (D) has signed a bill into law that allows online marijuana sales. According to Kyle Jaeger, reporting for Marijuana Moment, the bill strikes language from an existing statute that explicitly prohibited cannabis from being sold on the internet. It also adds regulations to provide for online commerce.
Consumers aged 21 and older will still have to physically pick up the marijuana products from the retailer, but now they can browse and electronically purchase cannabis online prior to visiting the store.
In addition, retailers will have to verify the name and age of the customer at the time of the online purchase, and that information will have to match the identification provided when the customer arrives to pick up the products he or she purchased.
Also, Jaeger makes the point that the retailer will have to provide consumers with “digital versions of all warning or educational materials that the retail marijuana store is required to post and provide on its licensed premises.”
Said Sen. Kevin Van Winkle (R), “What the bill mainly aims to do, from my perspective, is reduce cash in the marijuana space, which is something that is exceedingly important to do because when there is a tremendous amount of cash in any industry, it can lead to some troubling outcomes—specifically things like robbery. It sets them up for {a} tremendous amount of potential theft, and other things.”
Given that credit card companies have been reluctant to get involved in the cannabis sector, it’s still not clear what method of electronic payment consumers in Colorado will be allowed to use when purchasing cannabis online. For the moment, we assume that will be between the consumer, the dispensary and God.
To learn more, we suggest reading Kyle Jaeger’s article in the June 2, 2023 issue of Marijuana Moment.net.
www.marijuanamoment.net/colorado-governor-signs-bill-to-allow-online-marijuana-sales/
Using Cannabis to Treat MS
There may be hopeful news for those with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) who have found that standard pharmacologic management has not helped them to achieve adequate symptom control. A new study suggests medical cannabis may help to provide some symptom relief.
The experts at the Mayo Clinic describe MS as a potentially disabling disease of the brain and spinal cord that attacks the protective sheath (myelin) that covers nerve fibers and causes communication problems between the brain and the rest of the body. Eventually, the disease can cause permanent damage or deterioration of the nerve fibers.
One study, according to the National MS Society, showed that half of people with MS experience chronic pain. Muscle stiffness or spasms (spasticity) are also common.
Recently, a team of researchers affiliated with the Dent Neurologic Institute in Buffalo, NY conducted a study to evaluate the potential role of medical cannabis (MC) as part of a comprehensive treatment plan for patients with MS.
The team carried out what it described as a retrospective medical record review of 141 patients with MS who were receiving medical cannabis for symptom management. Data were collected for up to 4 follow-up appointments after initiation of MC. Outcomes included changes in MS symptoms, medication changes, adverse events, and changes in cognition and mobility.
The researchers found that the patients in the study experienced what they described as extensive MS symptom improvement after beginning treatment with medical cannabis, with alleviation of pain (72 percent of patients) and spasticity (48 percent of patients) and improvement in sleep (40 percent of patients) the most common benefits reported. There was also a significant reduction in concomitant opioid use reported after initiating medical cannabis use as evidenced by a significant decrease in daily morphine milligram equivalents among patients prescribed opioid analgesics.
The study appeared in the May/June 2023 issue of the International Journal of MS Care. To read an abstract of the study, simply click on the link that follows.
Cannabis Quote of the Week
“I am not Snoop Dogg.”—Thomas Cackett
According to Meryl Kornfield and Kim Bellware, reporting for the Washington Post, Mr. Cackett—a medical marijuana user—made the statement when testifying in a court case brought by a neighbor, Josefa Ippolito-Shepherd , who claimed that the odor from Cackett’s medical cannabis crept into her home and caused a nuisance.
Judge Ebony Scott, who presided over the case, ruled that while Josefa Ippolito-Shepherd could not prove she is entitled to damages, she successfully made the case that the smell is a private nuisance. As a result, Scott ordered Thomas Cackett to stop smoking medical cannabis in his apartment or within 25 feet of Ippolito-Shepherd’s address.
Judge Scott said in her ruling, that while Cackett is licensed to buy marijuana, “he does not possess a license to disrupt the full use and enjoyment of one’s land.”
The judge also stated in her decision, “Indeed, the public interest is best served by eliminating the smoking nuisance and the toxins that it deposits into the air, toxins that involuntary smokers have no choice but to inhale.”
Kornfield and Bellware noted in their article that the 76-year-old Ippolito-Shepherd argued during the trial that she has faced health problems including difficulty sleeping ever since she noticed the smell of marijuana, which is legal in the District, in her Cleveland Park home.
Ippolito-Shepherd also said the owner of the adjoining home, Angella Farserotu, has allowed Cackett, who rents a ground-level accessory apartment, to smoke without consequences. Farserotu and Cackett responded that they have no legal responsibility for Ippolito-Shepherd’s ailments.
Cackett, in his defense, testified that using medical marijuana relieves his pain and helps him sleep after physically intensive shifts as a restaurant manager. He said that he smokes about “eight to 12 puffs” at night after he arrives home from work, typically outside if the weather was tolerable.
If that’s the case, he was correct when he said he wasn’t Snoop Dogg, not by a long shot. He also denied smoking “all day and all night as the plaintiff alleges.”
The decision is believed to be the first of its kind and could open the door to additional legal action. However, Kornfield and Bellware make the point that an attorney representing complaining neighbors in a similar ongoing case said Ippolito-Shepherd’s legal win does not set a legal precedent as an appellate decision would.
Clearly, in some jurisdictions, legal access to medical cannabis is just the beginning of the conversation about cannabis that neighbors are likely to have with one another—not the end.
Perhaps Mr. Cackett should consider tinctures.
Meryl Kornfield and Kim Bellware do an excellent job unpacking a complicated issue. Their reporting is clear and concise. To learn more, we suggest reading their article in the June 6, 2023 issue of the Washington Post.com.
Consumer Corner
In an effort to bring some clarity to the convoluted set of laws that restrict how and where Californians can enjoy cannabis in public, the California Assembly overwhelmingly approved a bill to allow cannabis cafés to operate in the state. The measure passed the chamber 64-9.
According to TG Branfalt, reporting for Ganjapreneur, the bill would permit the sale of non-cannabis products for consumption at the cafés, which is prohibited under current state law although limited on-site cannabis consumption is currently allowed.
In a comment on the legislation, the California Nightlife Association said the bill offers establishments, “the commonsense option to sell food and beverage that isn’t ‘prepackaged’ and giving them {the cafes} flexibility to provide entertainment will give a much-needed lifeline to legal cannabis retailers who are struggling mightily to survive in the industry.”
Said Assemblymember Matt Haney (D), “There’s absolutely no good reason from an economic, health, or safety standpoint that the state should make that illegal.”
Added Haney, “Lots of people want to enjoy legal cannabis in the company of others, and many people want to do that while sipping coffee, eating a scone, or listening to music. … If an authorized cannabis retail store wants to also sell a cup of coffee and a sandwich, we should allow cities to make that possible and stop holding back these small businesses.”
The legislation now moves to the California Senate.
If you want to learn more, we suggest reading TG Branfalt’s excellent article in the June 2, 2023 issue of Ganjapreneur.com.
www.ganjapreneur.com/california-assembly-passes-cannabis-cafes-bill/
Senior Cannabis Digest is compiled and edited by Joe Kohut and John Kohut. You can reach them at joe.kohut@gmail.com and at 347-528-8753.
