Welcome to Senior Cannabis Digest. This week we look at using cannabis to manage chronic pain, a dip in cannabis sales revenue in California, a joint rolling tournament open to all comers and much more. Enjoy.
Spotlight on Medical Cannabis
There may be hopeful news for individuals who suffer from chronic pain. A new study found that 8 out of 10 patients who used medical cannabis found it to be a useful tool for pain management.
That’s the word from Ben Adlin, reporting for Marijuana Moment. The study, conducted by a team of researchers affiliated with the Rothman Institute Foundation for Opioid Research & Education in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and published in the journal Cureus, is based on data collected from a survey of 129 people who were medical marijuana patients in Pennsylvania between October 2022 and December 2024.
Adlin noted that the survey revealed that the “majority of respondents expressed positive views on the effectiveness of cannabis in improving their main symptom, with 66 (51.1 percent) strongly agreeing and 55 (42.6 percent) agreeing with the statement.”
According to Adlin, most patients in the study (77.5 percent) reported using marijuana for more than two years, while 22.5 percent said they’d used it for between one and two years. The most common frequency of dosage among patients was daily (27.9 percent), followed by two to three times per day (23.2 percent). A few patients (3.1 percent) reported using marijuana once a month or less.
In a press release study co-author Mohammad Khak, a researcher at the Rothman Opioid Foundation, said “Over 80 percent of patients who turned to medical cannabis found it effective for managing their pain.”
Added Khak, “Many participants also noted improvements in associated symptoms such as sleep disturbances and anxiety, suggesting that cannabis may offer a broader range of relief than conventional pain medications alone.”
Ari Greis, an orthopedic surgery professor at Drexel University College of Medicine, a board member of the Rothman Institute Foundation for Opioid Research & Education and the study’s senior author said, “This points to the possibility that cannabis could serve as a safer alternative or complement to standard pain management approaches, potentially helping to address the ongoing opioid crisis.”
In his article, Adlin points out that topicals, reportedly used by just under 64 percent of patients, were by far the most popular method of administration, while just under half of those surveyed (47.2 percent) reported “consistently using capsules, edibles, oils, or tinctures. In contrast, more intense forms, such as concentrates (e.g., dabs, wax, and shatter), were used by only 12 respondents (9.3 percent).”
As always, Adlin’s reporting is clear, concise and insightful. To learn more, we urge you to read his article in the May 29, 2025 issue of Marijuana Moment.net.
To read an abstract of the peer-reviewed study that appeared in the May 14, 2025 issue of the journal Cureus, click on the following link.
Cannabis News and Notes
It looks like the loophole in the 2018 Farm Bill that made consumable hemp products possible is about to close, bringing to an end the business of selling hemp-derived THC throughout the entire U.S.
According to Graham Abbott, reporting for Ganjapreneur, Republican lawmakers in the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies voted 9-7 to advance a federal spending bill containing language to prohibit the sale of any amount of hemp-derived THC or similar cannabinoids.
Aaron Smith, CEO of the National Cannabis Industry Association, said the change would “ensure these products are made and sold without oversight, delivering a big win to the drug cartels at the expense of public health and safety.”
Added Smith, in a comment to Marijuana Moment, “Congress should empower federal agencies to regulate these products responsibly, not double down on prohibitionist policies that have already proven to be failures both in practice and in the court of public opinion.”
To learn more, we urge you to read Graham Abbott’s article in the June 9, 2025 issue of Ganjapreneur.com.
https://www.ganjapreneur.com/cannabis-industry-contributed-9-1b-to-canadas-gdp-during-q1-2025/?
Cannabis and Commerce
You usually have to look behind the numbers in a press release to get the whole story. For example, cannabis sales revenue is down in California, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that consumers are purchasing less at state-licensed stores. Instead, it appears they are buying cheaper products.
According to Chris Roberts, reporting for MJBizDaily, state data released this week showed a significant decrease in quarterly sales revenue, while track-and-trace data showed “more unique units” were sold
According to Roberts, the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration said that legal marijuana stores reported $1.08 billion in sales from Jan. 1 through the end of March, which is the lowest total for the first quarter of the calendar year since 2020 and a significant year-over-year decrease from the $1.2 billion reported over the same period in 2024.
At the same time, according to Metrc’s track-and-trace data provided to MJBizDaily by the state Department of Cannabis Control (DCC), retailers sold 57.4 million “units” in the first quarter of 2025. That’s actually a 0.92 percent increase from the 56.9 million distinct items sold in 2024. A slight increase is an increase, nonetheless.
Metrc is a database used in 20 states to track marijuana from seed to sale using RFID tags.
Roberts contends that overall, the data supports the idea that cannabis is subject to the same forces that affect traditional retail sectors. And, he notes, inflation and trade wars are making Americans nervous – and nervous people tend to buy less or, when they do make purchases, they buy cheaper goods.
Responding to the dichotomy revealed in the reports cited by Roberts, Hirsh Jain, the principal of Los Angeles-based consultancy Ananda Strategy and lecturer in cannabis policy at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, compared California’s cannabis industry to the first dot-com bubble.
Said Jain, “Usage is rising, but monetization is failing.”
He added, “Just as the internet’s growth masked the insolvency of many early tech firms, rising unit sales in today’s cannabis industry are masking the harsher reality in our industry – operators are moving more product, but increasingly at a loss.”
However, Hein believes operators with compelling products and disciplined execution are still able to gain ground in the marketplace.
More news as more news develops.
You can learn much more by reading the excellent article by Chris Roberts in the June 5, 2025 issue of MJBizDaily.com.
Cannabis Corner
Mature consumers who take pride in their ability to roll a joint in a timely manner may be interested in a tournament designed to showcase that skill.
According to Kyle Jaeger, reporting for Marijuana Moment, the tournament—called Rolling Derby—is the brainchild of a group of cannabis industry veterans. The competition, which is being run by an e-commerce platform called bud.com, consists of a series of “speed-rolling” tournaments where adults 21 and older can compete against each other—virtually or in person—to see who can successfully fashion a joint the fastest.
In a press release, the event organizers said, “At its core, the Rolling Derby is an authentic celebration of speed, craft, and culture, challenging participants to roll the perfect joint against the clock. The inaugural season will feature both a global online competition open to cannabis enthusiasts worldwide, as well as a series of high-profile live events across California venues.”
Said Dean Arbit, CEO of bud.com,“The Rolling Derby turns what happens every day in millions of homes into a spectator sport that celebrates real craftsmanship.”
Added Arbit, “We’re taking something that’s part of cannabis culture’s DNA and elevating it to showcase the incredible dexterity and expertise that goes into a perfect roll. This isn’t just about speed, it’s really about bringing deserved recognition to a foundational skill.”
In his article, Jaeger notes the competition, which is sponsored by RAW Rolling papers, will last four months, with a championship final where the top 16 fastest joint-rollers will compete.
Submissions to enter the tournament will be accepted through June 30. To enter, prospective competitors must post a video of themselves rolling a one-gram joint, starting with whole nugs, on X or YouTube with the hashtag #rollingderby.
Josh Kesselman, founder and CEO of RAW Rolling Papers, said, “The Rolling Derby celebrates the real artistry of rolling culture, and that is what RAW® is all about. I created RAW® to let the true rolling and smoking experience shine through, and this competition is all about showcasing that same authentic craft.”
Roll ’em if you got ’em.
To learn more, we suggest reading Kyle Jaeger’s article in the May 28, 2025 issue of Marijuana Moment.net.
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/first-ever-marijuana-speed-rolling-competition-launches-turning-cannabis-culture-into-a-spectator-sport/
Cannabis Quote of the Week
“They have also discovered other trees bearing fruit which they use when they gather together in groups. They sit in a circle around a fire and throw this fruit into it, inhaling the fumes as the fruit burns; they then become intoxicated with wine. They add more of the fruit to the fire and become even more intoxicated until they reach a point where they stand up and begin to sing and dance. This then is said to be their way of life.”—Herodotus.
The quote is taken from The Histories, which was written by Herodotus, a Greek historian and geographer of the fifth century B.C. He was describing one of the social customs of a group of people called the Massagetai who inhabited the area known as the Caspian Steppe, as well as the lowlands of Central Asia.
Many of those who know such things claim the Massagetai were related to the Scythians, a nomadic people said to be among the first to cultivate cannabis, so we’re guessing the Massagetai weren’t tossing crab apples into that fire.
The fifth century B.C.? This cannabis thing may catch on afterall, particularly the singing and dancing part.
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.